Bank of Montreal Can Purchases 1,568 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,568 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $3,334,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Unum Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,003,918,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,497,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,496,939,000 after acquiring an additional 1,596,078 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 44.9% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,264,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,383,000 after acquiring an additional 392,191 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in Unum Group by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 831,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,747,000 after purchasing an additional 277,401 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Unum Group by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,462,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $106,837,000 after purchasing an additional 276,655 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNM opened at $77.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $13.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.16, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.46. Unum Group has a twelve month low of $48.38 and a twelve month high of $84.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a 50 day moving average of $77.79 and a 200 day moving average of $73.11.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.14 by ($0.11). Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 13.81%. As a group, research analysts expect that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total transaction 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total value of $579,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,588,751. The trade was a 18.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Unum Group from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Unum Group from $75.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Five 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.36.

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.