Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Shares Bought by Aviance Capital Partners LLC

Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 3.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 37,481 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,111 shares during the quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $2,228,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Unum Group by 361.5% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Unum Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Unum Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total value of $3,727,369.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,601,422.64. This trade represents a 5.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $227,565.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,762 shares in the company, valued at $3,554,355.24. This represents a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 91,844 shares of company stock worth $5,411,032. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Unum Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $66.00 target price (up from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.73.

Unum Group Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE UNM opened at $72.58 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.95. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $41.97 and a 1 year high of $73.62.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is presently 18.18%.

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.