Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 716 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 716 shares during the period. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $2,201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of UNM. Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Unum Group in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Unum Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 4,794.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 911 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 26.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Unum Group news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $4,217,292.84. The trade was a 15.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNM opened at $74.07 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $13.53 billion, a PE ratio of 7.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.95. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $48.38 and a 1-year high of $79.43.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.42 dividend. 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 2.27%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is presently 17.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on UNM. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $81.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays boosted their target price on Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 price target (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Unum Group in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.17.

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.