Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Lowers Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,015 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 691 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $2,265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of UNM. Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 24,664 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 1.0% during 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 buying an additional 55,014 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 156,380 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 89.5% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 111,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,647,000 after buying an additional 52,813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the third quarter valued at about $1,074,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of UNM stock opened at $75.54 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $73.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.41. Unum Group has a twelve month low of $46.39 and a twelve month high of $77.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $13.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.18, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.81.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. 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 2.22%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 18.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other news, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.56, for a total value 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 represents a 15.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.16, for a total value of $320,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,768,822.56. This represents a 7.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 three months. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI raised shares of Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Unum Group in a report on Thursday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $91.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.75.

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.