Ibex Wealth Advisors Acquires 79,594 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Ibex Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 157.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 130,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 79,594 shares during the period. Unum Group accounts for 1.1% of Ibex Wealth Advisors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Ibex Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Unum Group were worth $9,515,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UNM. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Unum Group by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,500,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $326,950,000 after purchasing an additional 55,014 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,186,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,511,000 after acquiring an additional 66,392 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 151.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 509,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,297,000 after acquiring an additional 307,175 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Unum Group by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,554,000 after acquiring an additional 156,380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Unum Group by 24.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 325,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,365,000 after purchasing an additional 64,062 shares in the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on UNM shares. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Unum Group in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $91.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Unum Group from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 target price (up from $74.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unum Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.75.

Unum Group Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE UNM traded up $1.20 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $77.16. 45,254 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,001,060. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s fifty day moving average is $74.10 and its 200 day moving average is $64.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $46.39 and a fifty-two week high of $77.63.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Unum Group’s payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $227,565.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,554,355.24. The trade was a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.92, for a total value of $769,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,217,292.84. This trade represents a 15.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 107,914 shares of company stock worth $7,998,745. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.