Kestra Investment Management LLC Invests $38,000 in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $38,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group during the 4th quarter worth $230,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Unum Group by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in Unum Group by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 351,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,667,000 after purchasing an additional 2,492 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,838 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Stock Down 1.0 %

UNM opened at $74.07 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $74.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.85. The company has a market cap of $13.53 billion, a PE ratio of 7.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.80. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $48.38 and a 1 year high of $79.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.29.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by ($0.11). Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 13.81%. Sell-side analysts expect that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, February 18th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Unum Group news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.92, for a total value of $769,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 54,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,217,292.84. This trade represents a 15.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on UNM. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 target price (up from $74.00) on shares of Unum Group in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Unum Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $67.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.17.

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.