Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Shares Bought by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,536 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $478,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in 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 buying an additional 1,596,078 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 4th quarter valued at $1,003,918,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Unum Group by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,552,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $405,481,000 after purchasing an additional 51,744 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Unum Group by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,462,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $106,837,000 after purchasing an additional 276,655 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in Unum Group by 44.9% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,264,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $92,383,000 after purchasing an additional 392,191 shares during the period. 86.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNM has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group raised their price target on Unum Group from $75.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Unum Group from $97.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.36.

Unum Group Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Unum Group stock opened at $77.26 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $13.66 billion, a PE ratio of 8.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a 50-day moving average of $77.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.11. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $48.38 and a 12-month high of $84.48.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by ($0.11). Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 13.81%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.74%.

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.