Xponance Inc. Has $1.71 Million Stock Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Xponance Inc. reduced its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 7.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,626 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $1,708,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the fourth quarter worth $247,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 9,226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $674,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 43,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,199,000 after purchasing an additional 2,311 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 29,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,188,000 after purchasing an additional 1,162 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 860 shares during the period. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on UNM shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Barclays set a $96.00 price objective on Unum Group and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Unum Group from $103.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Unum Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, UBS Group set a $89.00 target price on Unum Group and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Unum Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.14.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In other news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 51,170 shares in the company, valued at $4,093,600. The trade was a 16.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Unum Group Stock Performance

UNM stock opened at $79.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $13.77 billion, a PE ratio of 9.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $80.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.02. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $51.80 and a 1-year high of $84.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 25th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. This is a positive change from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 25th. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 19.79%.

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.