Ascent Group LLC Sells 1,776 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Ascent Group LLC lessened its stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 8.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,776 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $1,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Unum Group by 89.8% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,207,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,728,000 after acquiring an additional 571,436 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 62.9% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,119,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,237,000 after purchasing an additional 432,240 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Unum Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $6,640,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Unum Group by 106.4% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 233,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,915,000 after buying an additional 120,559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 183.5% during the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 170,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,694,000 after buying an additional 110,100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Stock Down 0.4 %

Unum Group stock opened at $76.04 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $42.09 and a 1-year high of $77.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.79.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on UNM. Bank of America increased their price target on Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.73.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In related news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. This represents a 5.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.56, for a total transaction of $104,340.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $581,591.16. The trade was a 15.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 175,709 shares of company stock valued at $11,726,114. Corporate 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.