Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Shares Sold by Boston Common Asset Management LLC

Boston Common Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 57,905 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 20,758 shares during the quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $3,442,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $165,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 10,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $518,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $654,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XML Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 19,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,053,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UNM. Citigroup raised their price objective on Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Unum Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. UBS Group raised Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays cut their price objective on Unum Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $66.00 price objective (up from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.64.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total value of $3,727,369.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total transaction of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,821 shares in the company, valued at $3,507,464.31. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total value of $3,727,369.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of Unum Group stock opened at $62.73 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $56.15 and a 200 day moving average of $53.50. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $41.75 and a 12 month high of $63.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.77. 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 quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.23 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.06 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is presently 24.71%.

Unum Group announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, July 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.