Capital Square LLC Buys New Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Capital Square LLC acquired a new stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,327 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $250,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Unum Group by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,536 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 766 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 period. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Unum Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,336 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $974,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Unum Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 9,151 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $668,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Raymond James raised shares of Unum Group from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $108.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com lowered Unum Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.36.

Unum Group Stock Up 1.4 %

Unum Group stock traded up $1.05 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $78.36. 262,798 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,297,855. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.46. Unum Group has a 52-week low of $48.38 and a 52-week high of $84.67. The business's 50-day moving average price is $77.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.67.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.14 by ($0.11). Unum Group had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 14.91%. On average, research analysts expect that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.74%.

Unum Group declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total value of $579,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,284 shares in the company, valued at $2,588,751. This trade represents a 18.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total value of $4,099,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 980,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.