LPL Financial LLC Has $24.58 Million Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

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 position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund 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 about 0.17% of Unum Group worth $24,575,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the first quarter worth about $46,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group during the first quarter worth approximately $49,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 1,289.7% in the first quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 806 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 748 shares during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in Unum Group during the fourth quarter worth $102,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 60.3% in the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,282 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the period. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays set a $96.00 target price on Unum Group and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $95.00 price objective (down from $100.00) on shares of Unum Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Unum Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, UBS Group set a $87.00 price target on Unum Group and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Five investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $91.62.

Unum Group Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of NYSE:UNM traded down $2.00 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $68.49. The company had a trading volume of 1,117,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,439,816. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $52.65 and a 12 month high of $84.48. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $11.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.20, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.40.

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

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 25th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a positive change from Unum Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 25th. Unum Group's payout ratio is currently 22.01%.

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.