Royal Bank of Canada Sells 4,019 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Royal Bank of Canada cut its stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,409,476 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,019 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.77% of Unum Group worth $102,934,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in UNM. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter worth about $328,000. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Unum Group by 56.7% in the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,928 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 2,146 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 4,084 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 770 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,594 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $408,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNM has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $75.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. 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 report on Monday. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of Unum Group from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $108.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.43.

Unum Group Stock Performance

UNM opened at $82.04 on Tuesday. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $48.38 and a 12-month high of $84.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.30 billion, a PE ratio of 8.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $78.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.99.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.34 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 14.91%. Unum Group's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 25th. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.79%.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,588,751. The trade was a 18.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 10,000 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,093,600. The trade was a 16.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 67,000 shares of company stock valued at $5,478,750 in the last three months. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Unum Group Company 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.

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