State of Wyoming Increases Stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

State of Wyoming increased its stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 61.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,074 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,196 shares during the period. State of Wyoming's holdings in Unum Group were worth $809,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,003,918,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,497,586 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,496,939,000 after purchasing an additional 1,596,078 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Unum Group in the 4th quarter worth $113,962,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in Unum Group during the fourth quarter valued at $65,096,000. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in Unum Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $59,561,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In other news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total value of $579,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,588,751. This trade represents a 18.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 now directly owns 51,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,093,600. The trade was a 16.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 67,000 shares of company stock valued at $5,478,750 over the last quarter. 0.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on Unum Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Unum Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price 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 raised their target price 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.43.

Unum Group Stock Down 0.2%

Unum Group stock traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $81.99. 688,522 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,315,145. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap 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 $78.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $76.03. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $48.38 and a 12 month 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.19 by ($0.15). The business 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%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect 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 buyback program on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 25th. Unum Group's payout ratio is currently 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.