Farther Finance Advisors LLC Sells 621 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 19.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 621 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $190,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 3.4% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $974,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 3.1% in the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 6,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In related news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total transaction of $4,099,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 980,637 shares in the company, valued at $80,402,427.63. This represents a 4.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total transaction of $579,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,588,751. This represents a 18.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of Unum Group stock opened at $81.51 on Thursday. Unum Group has a 52-week low of $48.38 and a 52-week high of $83.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a fifty day moving average of $76.40 and a 200-day moving average of $69.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.29.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 18th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on UNM. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James raised shares of Unum Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $81.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. 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 research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.62.

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.