Moran Wealth Management LLC Sells 164 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Moran Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 164 shares during the quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $767,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Unum Group during the first quarter worth $1,130,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in Unum Group by 80.7% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 64,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,436,000 after purchasing an additional 28,580 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its position in Unum Group by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 872,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,609,000 after buying an additional 64,661 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $703,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the second quarter worth about $3,945,000. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Unum Group news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.16, for a total value of $320,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 58,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,768,822.56. This represents a 7.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total value of $3,727,369.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,601,422.64. This trade represents a 5.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 91,844 shares of company stock valued at $5,411,032 in the last 90 days. 0.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Unum Group Stock Up 4.1 %

Shares of UNM stock opened at $75.63 on Friday. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $41.97 and a fifty-two week high of $75.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.81 billion, a PE ratio of 8.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $63.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.36.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on UNM shares. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $66.00 target price (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Unum Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Unum Group currently 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.