Millennium Management LLC Acquires 208,831 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 22.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,149,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 208,831 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned about 0.63% of Unum Group worth $83,975,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of UNM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Unum Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,003,918,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Unum Group by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,497,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,496,939,000 after acquiring an additional 1,596,078 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the fourth quarter worth $113,962,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in Unum Group in the 4th quarter valued at $65,096,000. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in Unum Group in the 4th quarter worth $59,561,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on UNM shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays boosted their target price on Unum Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Raymond James raised shares of Unum Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Unum Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.50.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total value of $4,099,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 980,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,402,427.63. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $800,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 51,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,093,600. This represents a 16.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 67,000 shares of company stock worth $5,478,750. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNM stock opened at $79.70 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $78.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.43. Unum Group has a one year low of $48.38 and a one year high of $84.48. The stock has a market cap of $13.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.19 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. Unum Group’s payout ratio is presently 19.79%.

Unum Group announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 18th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.