Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) is Donald Smith & CO. Inc.’s 7th Largest Position

Donald Smith & CO. Inc. reduced its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 15.1% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,108,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 554,811 shares during the period. Unum Group makes up about 4.0% of Donald Smith & CO. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Donald Smith & CO. Inc.’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $158,865,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Unum Group in the 4th quarter worth $51,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Unum Group by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 16,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $724,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Unum Group by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $551,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Unum Group by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $474,000 after purchasing an additional 1,476 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Unum Group by 25.5% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 924 shares in the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.90.

Unum Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNM opened at $55.02 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.18, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50-day moving average is $53.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.45. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $41.75 and a 1-year high of $58.17.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.14. Unum Group had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The firm had revenue of $3.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.06 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This is a positive change from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.96%.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total transaction of $541,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,507,464.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 64,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,507,464.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total value of $3,727,369.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.