Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $76.45 and last traded at $76.22, with a volume of 364692 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America boosted their price target on Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unum Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.73.

Unum Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $14.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $64.66 and a 200 day moving average of $57.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28.

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

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 18.18%.

Unum Group declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

In related news, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $227,565.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 50,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,554,355.24. This trade represents a 6.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 58,865 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.39, for a total value of $4,437,832.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,007,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $75,917,956.17. This represents a 5.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 165,709 shares of company stock valued at $10,956,914. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNM. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 89.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 571,436 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 62.9% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,119,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,237,000 after purchasing an additional 432,240 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 151.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 509,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,297,000 after purchasing an additional 307,175 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,554,000 after purchasing an additional 156,380 shares during the period. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,640,000. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

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.