Viking Fund Management LLC Invests $5.11 Million in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Viking Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 70,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,112,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UNM. Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 11.9% during the third quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 232,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,835,000 after purchasing an additional 24,664 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 1.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 55,014 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $29,554,000 after acquiring an additional 156,380 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Unum Group by 89.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 111,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,647,000 after buying an additional 52,813 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,074,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UNM. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Unum Group from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.45.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNM opened at $75.41 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $13.77 billion, a PE ratio of 8.16, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.81. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $46.16 and a 12-month high of $77.63. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $73.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.14.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. Unum Group had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 15.21%. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In related news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.16, for a total transaction of $320,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,768,822.56. This trade represents a 7.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $227,565.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,554,355.24. This represents a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 107,914 shares of company stock worth $7,998,745 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

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.