CWA Asset Management Group LLC Purchases 15,124 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 27.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,344 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,124 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC's holdings in Unum Group were worth $5,730,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LifeWealth Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $315,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 42.9% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,063 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,553,000 after buying an additional 5,727 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Unum Group by 9.5% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 62,828 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,118,000 after buying an additional 5,455 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in Unum Group by 23.4% during the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 42,167 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,435,000 after acquiring an additional 7,990 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Unum Group by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,558 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $290,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 10,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $800,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,170 shares in the company, valued at $4,093,600. The trade was a 16.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on UNM shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $76.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group set a $89.00 price target on shares of Unum Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective 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. Five investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $88.29.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNM opened at $77.77 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.43. Unum Group has a 52 week low of $49.04 and a 52 week high of $84.48. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $79.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by ($0.15). Unum Group had a net margin of 12.31% and a return on equity of 14.17%. The company had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 25th. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.79%.

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.

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