Boothbay Fund Management LLC Invests $514,000 in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Boothbay Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 7,042 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $514,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter worth $1,003,918,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,497,586 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,496,939,000 after buying an additional 1,596,078 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in shares of Unum Group by 44.9% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,264,994 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $92,383,000 after buying an additional 392,191 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 831,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $60,747,000 after buying an additional 277,401 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,462,917 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $106,837,000 after buying an additional 276,655 shares during the period. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unum Group Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE UNM traded down $0.54 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $79.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 487,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,303,377. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $78.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.65. Unum Group has a twelve month low of $48.38 and a twelve month high of $84.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.34, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.38.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate 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 issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.79%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Unum Group from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $103.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Unum Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. 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 research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $88.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.