AE Wealth Management LLC Acquires 127,157 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

AE Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 1,863.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 133,982 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 127,157 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC owned about 0.08% of Unum Group worth $10,914,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,558 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $290,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,536 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $478,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 18,211 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,330,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,757 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 9,151 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $668,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays set a $96.00 target price on Unum Group and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Unum Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. UBS Group set a $89.00 price objective on Unum Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Unum Group from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Unum Group from $103.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Five 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $91.77.

Unum Group Price Performance

UNM traded up $0.73 during trading on Friday, hitting $80.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 947,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,136,950. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $51.80 and a 12 month high of $84.48. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $80.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.41.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 12.31% and a return on equity of 14.17%. The firm had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 25th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. This is a boost from Unum Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 25th. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.79%.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In other news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $800,000.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

About Unum Group

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.