Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $63.29 and last traded at $63.23, with a volume of 33243 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.97.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays reduced their price target on Unum Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group upgraded Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $66.00 price target (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Unum Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.64.

Unum Group Stock Up 0.7 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $56.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.77.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.06 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.96%.

Unum Group announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Unum Group news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,507,464.31. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Unum Group news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,507,464.31. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total transaction of $3,727,369.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,065,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,601,422.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unum Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 51.7% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,961,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $158,590,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008,776 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 6,498.1% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 636,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,145,000 after purchasing an additional 626,676 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Unum Group by 62.9% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,119,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,237,000 after purchasing an additional 432,240 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Unum Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,590,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $931,109,000 after buying an additional 300,840 shares during the period. Finally, D. Scott Neal Inc. bought a new position in shares of Unum Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $12,071,000. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.