Moran Wealth Management LLC Has $767,000 Stock Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Moran Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 1.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 164 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of UNM. Moors & Cabot Inc. bought a new stake in Unum Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $225,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 0.8% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 87,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,215,000 after buying an additional 717 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 188.1% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $168,000 after acquiring an additional 1,847 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,021,000. Finally, Lingohr Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in Unum Group by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Lingohr Asset Management GmbH now owns 14,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $876,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Unum Group Trading Up 4.1 %

Shares of NYSE:UNM opened at $75.63 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a 50 day moving average of $63.02 and a 200-day moving average of $56.36. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $41.97 and a 12-month high of $75.93. The stock has a market cap of $13.81 billion, a PE ratio of 8.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.76.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. Unum Group had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 15.21%. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.18%.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on UNM shares. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group raised shares of Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Unum Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.16, for a total value of $320,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,768,822.56. The trade was a 7.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at $58,601,422.64. The trade was a 5.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 91,844 shares of company stock worth $5,411,032. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.