Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Shares Purchased by Advisors Capital Management LLC

Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $451,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in Unum Group by 94.5% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 9,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $541,000 after acquiring an additional 4,425 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Unum Group by 5.2% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 17,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,028,000 after purchasing an additional 859 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Unum Group in the third quarter worth about $58,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Unum Group by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,554,000 after buying an additional 156,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Unum Group by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 36,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,197,000 after buying an additional 1,611 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Unum Group stock opened at $77.26 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of $13.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.46. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $48.38 and a fifty-two week high of $84.48. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.11.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.14 by ($0.11). Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 13.81%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.74%.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $75.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Unum Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Unum Group from $103.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Unum Group news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total value of $579,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,588,751. This represents a 18.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total transaction of $4,099,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 980,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,402,427.63. This trade represents a 4.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Company Profile

Unum Group, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial protection benefit solutions primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, Poland, and internationally. It operates through Unum US, Unum International, Colonial Life, and Closed Block segment. The company offers group long-term and short-term disability, group life, and accidental death and dismemberment products; supplemental and voluntary products, such as individual disability, voluntary benefits, and dental and vision products; and accident, sickness, disability, life, and cancer and critical illness products.