Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Sells 685 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC cut its stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 685 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $3,188,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 8.4% in the 4th 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. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 4th quarter worth about $1,003,918,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,552,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $405,481,000 after acquiring an additional 51,744 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 33.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,930,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $140,973,000 after acquiring an additional 480,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,708,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $124,768,000 after acquiring an additional 227,644 shares in the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $800,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 51,170 shares in the company, valued at $4,093,600. This represents a 16.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNM opened at $80.47 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $79.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market cap of $14.03 billion, a PE ratio of 9.48, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.43. Unum Group has a 52-week low of $49.63 and a 52-week high of $84.48.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.34 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 12.31% and a return on equity of 14.17%. The business’s revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 25th. Unum Group’s payout ratio is presently 19.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNM has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $76.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Unum Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.29.

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.