Insider Selling: Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) CEO Sells 58,865 Shares of Stock

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 58,865 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.39, for a total value of $4,437,832.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,007,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $75,917,956.17. The trade was a 5.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNM traded up $0.40 during trading on Friday, hitting $75.83. 1,758,071 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,254,533. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.21, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.76. Unum Group has a one year low of $41.97 and a one year high of $76.31. 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’s fifty day moving average is $63.45 and its 200-day moving average is $56.49.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. Unum Group’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unum Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNM. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Unum Group by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $775,000 after buying an additional 1,221 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc increased its position in shares of Unum Group by 156.2% in the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 88,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,274,000 after acquiring an additional 54,095 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 35.2% during the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 18,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,125,000 after acquiring an additional 4,931 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 17,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,028,000 after acquiring an additional 859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Unum Group by 94.5% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 9,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $541,000 after purchasing an additional 4,425 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on UNM. Evercore ISI raised Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $67.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $66.00 price target (up from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.73.

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.