Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Shares Sold by J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 271 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $427,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group during the first quarter worth $1,130,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 80.7% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 64,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,436,000 after acquiring an additional 28,580 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in Unum Group by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 872,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,609,000 after acquiring an additional 64,661 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Unum Group by 51.7% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,961,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $158,590,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008,776 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the first quarter worth about $703,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UNM. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group upgraded shares of Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Unum Group from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America boosted their target price on Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Unum Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.64.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of Unum Group stock opened at $64.21 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Unum Group has a 52 week low of $41.75 and a 52 week high of $64.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $58.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.77.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.04. Unum Group had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.96%.

Unum Group announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total value of $3,727,369.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at $58,601,422.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 64,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,507,464.31. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total value of $3,727,369.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,601,422.64. This trade represents a 0.00 % 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 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.