Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Shares Sold by Clarius Group LLC

Clarius Group LLC lowered its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 7.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 595 shares during the period. Clarius Group LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Unum Group by 361.5% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in shares of Unum Group during the first quarter worth about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Unum Group in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new stake in Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in Unum Group by 93.8% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on UNM. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Unum Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Unum Group from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.44.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNM traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $53.37. 98,625 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,262,009. The company has a market cap of $9.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.89, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $52.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.23. Unum Group has a 52 week low of $41.75 and a 52 week high of $58.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.14. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 10.40%. The firm had revenue of $3.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.06 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. This is a boost from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.96%.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, July 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.