Axa S.A. Purchases 60,393 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

AXA S.A. raised its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 25.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 296,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 60,393 shares during the period. AXA S.A. owned approximately 0.16% of Unum Group worth $21,627,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Unum Group in the fourth quarter worth $1,003,918,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 8.4% in the fourth 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. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in Unum Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,096,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Unum Group by 33.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,930,349 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $140,973,000 after buying an additional 480,926 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 44.9% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,264,994 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $92,383,000 after buying an additional 392,191 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company's stock.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of UNM traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $80.39. 746,460 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,304,844. The company has a market cap of $14.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.38. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $48.38 and a 1 year high of $84.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $78.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.19 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.34 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The business's revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. Unum Group's payout ratio is currently 19.79%.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on UNM. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $75.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Unum Group from $103.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com lowered Unum Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Unum Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total transaction of $4,099,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 980,637 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $80,402,427.63. The trade was a 4.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total transaction of $579,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,588,751. The trade was a 18.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.