Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.42

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 9th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of 0.42 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%.

Unum Group has raised its dividend by an average of 10.3% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 16 consecutive years. Unum Group has a dividend payout ratio of 16.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Unum Group to earn $9.03 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.68 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 18.6%.

Unum Group Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:UNM traded down $0.41 on Thursday, hitting $72.96. The company had a trading volume of 1,197,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,131,675. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $44.83 and a 1 year high of $77.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.81.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In related news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 58,865 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.39, for a total transaction of $4,437,832.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,007,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,917,956.17. This trade represents a 5.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.92, for a total value of $769,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 54,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,217,292.84. This trade represents a 15.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 107,914 shares of company stock valued at $7,998,745. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on UNM shares. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Unum Group from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI raised shares of 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 report on Thursday, November 14th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 target price (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Unum Group in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Unum Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.55.

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.