Signet Financial Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Signet Financial Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 6.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 763 shares during the period. Signet Financial Management LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $920,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of UNM. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the 4th quarter valued at $1,003,918,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Unum Group by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,497,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,496,939,000 after buying an additional 1,596,078 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the 4th quarter valued at $113,962,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the 4th quarter valued at $105,199,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the 4th quarter valued at $65,096,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In related news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $800,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 51,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,093,600. This trade represents a 16.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on UNM shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Unum Group from $103.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Raymond James upgraded Unum Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Unum Group from $76.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.29.

Unum Group Price Performance

UNM opened at $78.81 on Wednesday. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $48.38 and a 12-month high of $84.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.04. The company has a market capitalization of $13.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.32, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.43.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by ($0.15). Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 13.81%. The firm had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. Unum Group’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 25th. Unum Group’s payout ratio is currently 19.79%.

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.