Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Buys New Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 13,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $963,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in Unum Group by 5.5% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 28,795 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,712,000 after acquiring an additional 1,499 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Unum Group by 89.5% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 111,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,647,000 after acquiring an additional 52,813 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC grew its stake in Unum Group by 1.8% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 12,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $732,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $5,021,000. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In related news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total transaction of $579,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,588,751. The trade was a 18.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total value of $4,099,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 980,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,402,427.63. The trade was a 4.85 % 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 corporate insiders.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNM opened at $81.05 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.33 billion, a PE ratio of 8.56, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $76.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.28. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $48.38 and a 1 year high of $83.96.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.14 by ($0.11). Unum Group had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 14.91%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

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

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. 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 2.07%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 17.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on UNM shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Unum Group from $81.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Unum Group from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 target price (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lifted 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, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Unum Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.62.

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.