Swiss National Bank Cuts Stock Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Swiss National Bank cut its stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 11.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 385,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 47,800 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.20% of Unum Group worth $17,432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC grew its stake in Unum Group by 1.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,585,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $619,086,000 after buying an additional 236,136 shares during the period. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. increased its holdings in Unum Group by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 3,687,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $166,734,000 after purchasing an additional 163,682 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Unum Group by 9.7% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,545,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,416,000 after purchasing an additional 313,482 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management raised its position in Unum Group by 2.6% in the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,856,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $140,530,000 after purchasing an additional 71,561 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 79.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,952,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,616,000 after purchasing an additional 866,531 shares in the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNM has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Unum Group from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Unum Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Unum Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Unum Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Unum Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.38.

Unum Group Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE UNM opened at $52.67 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.83, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $51.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Unum Group has a 52-week low of $41.75 and a 52-week high of $54.57.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 16.02%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.87 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a $0.365 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.15, for a total transaction of $2,457,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,076,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,922,409.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Unum Group news, Director Timothy F. Keaney sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.61, for a total transaction of $420,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 37,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,973,138.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.15, for a total value of $2,457,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,076,753 shares in the company, valued at $52,922,409.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 93,500 shares of company stock worth $4,675,095 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

About Unum Group

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.