D.A. Davidson & CO. Sells 10,666 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

D.A. Davidson & CO. trimmed its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 54.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,007 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,666 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in Unum Group were worth $734,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Unum Group during the fourth quarter worth about $247,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Unum Group by 124.5% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,258 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $165,000 after buying an additional 1,252 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Unum Group during the fourth quarter worth about $11,456,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Unum Group during the fourth quarter worth about $19,617,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Unum Group by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 30,176 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,204,000 after buying an additional 2,072 shares during the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on UNM. Barclays set a $96.00 price target on shares of Unum Group and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $76.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $103.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $90.00.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In related news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $800,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 51,170 shares in the company, valued at $4,093,600. This trade represents a 16.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Unum Group Trading Down 1.0%

UNM traded down $0.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $79.68. The stock had a trading volume of 460,185 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,398,790. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $80.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.41. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $51.55 and a 1-year high of $84.48.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 12.31%. The company had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. This is a positive change from Unum Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.79%.

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.