AIA Group Ltd Decreases Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

AIA Group Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 45.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,462 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $733,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UNM. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at $1,003,918,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Unum Group by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,497,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,496,939,000 after purchasing an additional 1,596,078 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 44.9% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,264,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,383,000 after purchasing an additional 392,191 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 307,175 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in Unum Group by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 831,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,747,000 after buying an additional 277,401 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $81.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Five equities research 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total transaction of $579,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,588,751. This trade represents a 18.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total value of $4,099,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 980,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,402,427.63. The trade was a 4.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Unum Group Price Performance

Unum Group stock opened at $81.53 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.29. Unum Group has a one year low of $48.38 and a one year high of $84.48. The company has a market cap of $14.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a fifty day moving average of $77.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.63.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, analysts predict that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Unum Group’s payout ratio is currently 17.74%.

Unum Group announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.