Burney Co. Lowers Stock Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Burney Co. lowered its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 12.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 105,685 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,639 shares during the period. Burney Co. owned about 0.06% of Unum Group worth $7,718,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Unum Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in Unum Group by 38.2% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in Unum Group by 4,794.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 911 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNM opened at $73.45 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $73.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.48. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $44.83 and a fifty-two week high of $77.63. The company has a market cap of $13.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company 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 firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. Unum Group’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.16, for a total transaction of $320,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 58,741 shares in the company, valued at $3,768,822.56. This trade represents a 7.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.56, for a total transaction of $104,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $581,591.16. This trade represents a 15.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 107,914 shares of company stock valued at $7,998,745 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI raised Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Unum Group from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.45.

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.