Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Stake Lifted by Veritable L.P.

Veritable L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the period. Veritable L.P.’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $538,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Unum Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $426,463,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 990.0% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,304,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,611,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,937 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 39.0% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,481,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $136,167,000 after acquiring an additional 977,334 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,014,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 23,681,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $746,204,000 after acquiring an additional 836,407 shares in the last quarter. 79.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Unum Group from $59.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Unum Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.50.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of Unum Group stock opened at $42.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $36.27 and a fifty-two week high of $52.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $47.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.30. The company has a market cap of $8.31 billion, a PE ratio of 6.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.07.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.51 EPS. Analysts expect that Unum Group will post 7.72 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, October 31st that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 17th. Investors of record on Friday, October 27th were issued a dividend of $0.365 per share. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 26th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.59%.

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 and Corporate segments. 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.