Entropy Technologies LP Makes New $340,000 Investment in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 5,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $340,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Apollon Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Unum Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $235,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $548,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 5.3% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 31,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,885,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Unum Group by 24.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $149,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in Unum Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,393,000. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNM has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $66.00 target price (up from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays upped their price target on Unum Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Unum Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.73.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

In related news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. This represents a 5.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Hanley Ronald P. O sold 14,299 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.10, for a total transaction of $1,030,957.90. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,798,849.90. The trade was a 26.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 91,844 shares of company stock valued at $5,411,032. 0.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Unum Group Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:UNM opened at $73.19 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $61.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.92, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $41.86 and a 1-year high of $73.24.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.18%.

Unum Group announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.