Vident Advisory LLC Reduces Stock Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Vident Advisory LLC cut its stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,907 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,286 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $1,892,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Unum Group by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,536 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $478,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 18,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,330,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Unum Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $974,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Unum Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 9,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $668,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Unum Group by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 36,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,635,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on UNM. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Unum Group from $75.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Unum Group from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Raymond James upgraded Unum Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Unum Group from $103.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 980,637 shares in the company, valued at $80,402,427.63. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total value of $579,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,284 shares in the company, valued at $2,588,751. This represents a 18.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 0.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Unum Group Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE:UNM opened at $79.50 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.40, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $48.38 and a 12 month high of $84.48. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.17.

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

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.79%.

Unum Group announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.