Lisa G. Iglesias Sells 7,000 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Stock

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,284 shares in the company, valued at $2,588,751. This represents a 18.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Unum Group Price Performance

NYSE:UNM opened at $81.34 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.29. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.18. The company has a market cap of $14.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.80. Unum Group has a 52-week low of $48.38 and a 52-week high of $83.96.

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

Unum Group declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unum Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Unum Group by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,536 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its holdings in Unum Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 18,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,330,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Unum Group by 26.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in Unum Group by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Unum Group by 3.4% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNM has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered Unum Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Unum Group from $81.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Unum Group from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Five research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Unum Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.62.

About Unum Group

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.