GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC Has $1.07 Million Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lowered its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 6.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,333 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $1,069,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Unum Group by 7.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $165,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Unum Group by 1.8% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $654,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Unum Group by 20.4% in the first quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in Unum Group by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 9,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XML Financial LLC grew its holdings in Unum Group by 1.3% during the first quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 19,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,053,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on UNM. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.78.

Unum Group Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of UNM stock traded up $0.59 on Wednesday, hitting $54.21. The stock had a trading volume of 942,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,257,082. Unum Group has a one year low of $41.75 and a one year high of $58.17. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $52.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.44. The company has a market cap of $10.07 billion, a PE ratio of 8.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $3.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.06 earnings per share. Unum Group’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, July 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. 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 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 26th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.96%.

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.