Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 50.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 469,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 156,380 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.26% of Unum Group worth $29,554,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Unum Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the second quarter worth about $41,000. 86.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In other news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.92, for a total value of $769,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,217,292.84. The trade was a 15.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 transaction of $320,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 58,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,768,822.56. This represents a 7.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 107,914 shares of company stock valued at $7,998,745 over the last three months. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on UNM. Evercore ISI upgraded Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Unum Group from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Unum Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.09.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of Unum Group stock opened at $70.51 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.38. The company has a market cap of $12.88 billion, a PE ratio of 7.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.79. Unum Group has a one year low of $44.01 and a one year high of $77.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. The company 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 18.18%.

About Unum Group

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.