Caxton Associates LP Sells 17,913 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Caxton Associates LP trimmed its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 80.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,235 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 17,913 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LP's holdings in Unum Group were worth $309,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,497,586 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,496,939,000 after purchasing an additional 1,596,078 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Unum Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,003,918,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Unum Group by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,552,252 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $405,481,000 after buying an additional 51,744 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 33.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,930,349 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $140,973,000 after buying an additional 480,926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,708,452 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $124,768,000 after acquiring an additional 227,644 shares during the period. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on UNM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Unum Group from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Unum Group from $103.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Unum Group from $75.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 980,637 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $80,402,427.63. This trade represents a 4.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 directly owns 31,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,588,751. This represents a 18.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Unum Group Price Performance

UNM traded up $0.14 during trading on Friday, hitting $80.39. 771,460 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,309,923. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $78.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.15. The company has a market cap 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 twelve month low of $48.38 and a twelve month high of $84.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.12 earnings per share. Unum Group's quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. Unum Group's payout ratio is 19.79%.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding 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 typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group 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.