BNP Paribas Financial Markets Boosts Stock Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 79.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 207,736 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 91,703 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.11% of Unum Group worth $15,171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UNM. Barrett & Company Inc. grew its holdings in Unum Group by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 396 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Unum Group during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Unum Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in Unum Group by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 800 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Unum Group in the third quarter worth about $58,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Unum Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James upgraded Unum Group from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $108.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.50.

Unum Group Stock Up 0.2 %

UNM opened at $80.39 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $78.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.49, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.38. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $48.38 and a fifty-two week high of $84.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.29.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by ($0.15). Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 13.81%. The business had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

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

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Unum Group news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 31,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,588,751. This represents a 18.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total value of $4,099,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 980,637 shares in the company, valued at $80,402,427.63. This represents a 4.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.92% of the stock is owned by 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding UNM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.