CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Purchases 6,674 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 4.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 162,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,674 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned approximately 0.09% of Unum Group worth $8,725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the first quarter worth $247,000. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the first quarter worth $365,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 27.4% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the first quarter worth $5,497,000. Finally, Patten & Patten Inc. TN lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 16.3% during the first quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 14,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $762,000 after buying an additional 1,996 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on UNM shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Unum Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Unum Group from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Unum Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Unum Group in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.44.

Insider Activity

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

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNM stock opened at $53.38 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The business has a fifty day moving average of $51.71 and a 200 day moving average of $50.61. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $41.75 and a 1 year high of $54.66.

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

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 26th. This is a boost from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.69%.

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.