Principal Street Partners LLC Has $6.36 Million Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Principal Street Partners LLC lessened its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 22.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 107,534 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 31,539 shares during the quarter. Unum Group comprises approximately 1.0% of Principal Street Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Principal Street Partners LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $6,363,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 361.5% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Unum Group during the second quarter worth about $26,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Unum Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Unum Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Unum Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:UNM opened at $76.21 on Tuesday. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $41.97 and a 12-month high of $76.72. The business has a 50 day moving average of $63.86 and a 200-day moving average of $56.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $13.92 billion, a PE ratio of 8.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.76.

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

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gloria C. Larson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.50, for a total transaction of $745,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 121,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,051,079.50. This represents a 7.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 58,865 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.39, for a total value of $4,437,832.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,007,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,917,956.17. This trade represents a 5.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 165,709 shares of company stock valued at $10,956,914. 0.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $66.00 price objective (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Unum Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.73.

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.