Wells Fargo & Company Raises Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Price Target to $66.00

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) had its price objective increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $66.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Unum Group from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Unum Group from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $56.50.

Unum Group Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE UNM opened at $50.30 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $9.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.54. Unum Group has a 52 week low of $39.40 and a 52 week high of $54.57.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 10.36% and a return on equity of 16.03%. The business’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.43 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a $0.365 dividend. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven Andrew Zabel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.06, for a total transaction of $510,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 122,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,241,880.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,450 shares in the company, valued at $2,772,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven Andrew Zabel sold 10,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.06, for a total value of $510,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 122,246 shares in the company, valued at $6,241,880.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 81,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,018,100. Company insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unum Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 3.7% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 23,681,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $746,204,000 after purchasing an additional 836,407 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $931,109,000 after acquiring an additional 300,840 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Unum Group in the fourth quarter worth $590,489,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 1.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,585,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $619,086,000 after acquiring an additional 236,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 2.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,106,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $241,749,000 after acquiring an additional 166,022 shares in the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.