Summit Global Investments Cuts Stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Summit Global Investments reduced its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,259 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,374 shares during the quarter. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Unum Group were worth $4,547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Unum Group by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,552,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $405,481,000 after purchasing an additional 51,744 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,462,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $106,837,000 after buying an additional 276,655 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 44.9% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,264,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $92,383,000 after buying an additional 392,191 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 151.7% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 509,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,297,000 after buying an additional 307,175 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $29,554,000 after buying an additional 156,380 shares during the period. 86.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

In other news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total transaction of $4,099,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 980,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,402,427.63. The trade was a 4.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total transaction of $579,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,588,751. This represents a 18.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNM has been the subject of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Unum Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.62.

Unum Group Stock Up 0.6 %

UNM opened at $81.54 on Friday. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $48.38 and a fifty-two week high of $83.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.29. The company has a fifty day moving average of $76.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.61, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by ($0.11). Unum Group had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 14.91%. On average, research analysts expect that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.74%.

Unum Group 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.