Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Shares Purchased by LPL Financial LLC

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC has increased its stake in Unum Group by 1.5% during the first quarter, now holding a total of 301,684 shares valued at approximately $24.6 million.
• Unum Group recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.46 per share, reflecting a healthy 2.6% dividend yield for shareholders.
• The company's stock price has experienced a 2.9% decline recently, with shares currently trading at $69.70 and a market cap of $11.87 billion.

LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 301,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,455 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.17% of Unum Group worth $24,575,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 480,926 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,708,452 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $124,768,000 after acquiring an additional 227,644 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Unum Group by 13.1% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,654,489 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $134,775,000 after acquiring an additional 191,572 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Unum Group during the 4th quarter worth $113,962,000. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in Unum Group during the 4th quarter worth $105,199,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company's stock.

Unum Group Price Performance

NYSE:UNM traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $70.55. 1,106,375 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,442,767. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $52.65 and a 1-year high of $84.48. The stock has a market cap of $12.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.40. The firm's 50-day moving average is $79.28 and its 200-day moving average is $78.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by ($0.16). Unum Group had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 13.44%. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.16 earnings per share. Unum Group's revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 25th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This is a positive change from Unum Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 25th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group set a $87.00 target price on shares of Unum Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Unum Group from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $100.00 to $96.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays set a $96.00 price objective on Unum Group and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Unum Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $91.62.

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.