Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Stock Price Target Cut by Morgan Stanley

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) had its price objective lowered by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $92.00 to $85.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 4.63% from the company’s current price.

UNM has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on Unum Group from $109.00 to $101.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $108.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Atlantic Securities set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.67.

Unum Group Price Performance

UNM stock traded up $1.01 on Tuesday, reaching $81.24. The company had a trading volume of 483,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,628,390. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $69.02 and a 1 year high of $96.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. The company’s fifty day moving average is $91.06 and its 200 day moving average is $84.06. The company has a market cap of $12.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.63, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.25.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The financial services provider reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 12.57% and a net margin of 1.94%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, August 26th that allows the company to buy back $1 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Unum Group news, EVP Lisa Iglesias sold 4,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.44, for a total value of $377,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 25,453 shares in the company, valued at $2,403,781.32. The trade was a 13.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Lynn Jr sold 2,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.31, for a total transaction of $206,350.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $769,003.74. This trade represents a 21.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,488 shares of company stock valued at $988,396. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Unum Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Unum Group during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. CX Institutional raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 57.8% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. City State Bank acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Unum Group during the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new stake in Unum Group during the second quarter worth approximately $47,000. 86.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unum Group Company Profile

Unum Group is an insurance holding company that provides employee benefits and related services, primarily to employers and their workers. Its offerings include group disability and life insurance, accident and critical illness coverage, and services that help employers manage employee leave and workplace absence. Through its Unum and Colonial Life businesses, the company also provides voluntary benefits that employees can elect through their workplaces. In the United Kingdom, Unum offers workplace benefits including income protection, life insurance and critical illness coverage.