Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $77.65 and last traded at $77.40, with a volume of 249321 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $75.96.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Unum Group from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 target price (up from $74.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI upgraded Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $76.75.

Unum Group Stock Up 1.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.18. The firm has a market cap of $14.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.81.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued 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. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. The company’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In related news, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $581,591.16. The trade was a 15.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.16, for a total value of $320,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,768,822.56. This represents a 7.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 107,914 shares of company stock worth $7,998,745. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Unum Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Unum Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Unum Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in Unum Group by 38.2% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 26.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.