Commerce Bank Trims Stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Commerce Bank decreased its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 4.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 730 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $985,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 89.8% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,207,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,728,000 after acquiring an additional 571,436 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,186,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $70,511,000 after acquiring an additional 66,392 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 872,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,609,000 after acquiring an additional 64,661 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 413,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,127,000 after acquiring an additional 35,723 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 352,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,998,000 after acquiring an additional 24,082 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Stock Performance

UNM stock opened at $75.84 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.85 billion, a PE ratio of 8.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.76. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $41.97 and a 12-month high of $76.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.71.

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

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 18.18%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on UNM shares. Barclays upped their price target on Unum Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI upgraded Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group upgraded Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $66.00 price target (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.73.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.56, for a total value of $104,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,361 shares in the company, valued at $581,591.16. This represents a 15.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 58,865 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.39, for a total value of $4,437,832.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,007,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $75,917,956.17. This trade represents a 5.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 165,709 shares of company stock valued at $10,956,914 in the last ninety days. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Unum Group

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.