ProShare Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 6,498.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 636,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 626,676 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.34% of Unum Group worth $34,145,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of UNM. Comerica Bank acquired a new stake in Unum Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,439,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Unum Group by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 222,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,963,000 after purchasing an additional 28,898 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Unum Group by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 12,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $628,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its stake in Unum Group by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 4,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Unum Group by 79.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,952,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,616,000 after purchasing an additional 866,531 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price 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. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Unum Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.22.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNM traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $53.91. The stock had a trading volume of 669,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,261,282. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $51.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.31. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $41.75 and a fifty-two week high of $54.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.08, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.81.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.15. Unum Group had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 16.02%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.87 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.25 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This is a boost from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 26th. Unum Group’s payout ratio is currently 21.69%.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In related news, Director Timothy F. Keaney sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.61, for a total value of $420,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 37,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,973,138.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.47, for a total value of $236,115.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 56,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,952,067.14. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy F. Keaney sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.61, for a total transaction of $420,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 37,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,973,138.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

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.