Ieq Capital LLC Purchases 3,695 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Ieq Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 22.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 20,016 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,695 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $1,462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UNM. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Unum Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,500,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $326,950,000 after acquiring an additional 55,014 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Unum Group by 50.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,554,000 after purchasing an additional 156,380 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 16,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 5,047 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 89.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 111,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,647,000 after purchasing an additional 52,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new position in Unum Group during the 3rd quarter worth $1,074,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.92, for a total value of $769,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,217,292.84. This trade represents a 15.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on UNM shares. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Unum Group from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Unum Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.17.

Unum Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNM opened at $74.74 on Tuesday. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $48.38 and a fifty-two week high of $79.43. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $13.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.89, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.10.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback 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 purchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication 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, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.74%.

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.