KPP Advisory Services LLC Takes Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

KPP Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of UNM. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Unum Group by 5.3% during the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 177,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,530,000 after buying an additional 13,171 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its position in Unum Group by 24.7% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 140,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,577,000 after buying an additional 27,826 shares during the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 16.3% during the first quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 14,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $762,000 after acquiring an additional 1,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Unum Group by 27.4% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI raised Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $67.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America upped their price target 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. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.73.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at $58,601,422.64. This trade represents a 5.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Hanley Ronald P. O sold 14,299 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.10, for a total transaction of $1,030,957.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 38,819 shares in the company, valued at $2,798,849.90. This represents a 26.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 91,844 shares of company stock valued at $5,411,032. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE UNM opened at $73.19 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $13.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $41.86 and a 12-month high of $73.24.

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

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 18.18%.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.