Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. significantly decreased its stake in Unum Group by 61.1% in the first quarter, now holding 22,166 shares valued at approximately $1.8 million.
• Unum Group recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, increasing from the previous $0.42, offering an annualized dividend yield of 2.6%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Unum Group, with target prices ranging from $87 to $96 per share, indicating a consensus average rating of "Moderate Buy."

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 61.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,166 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 34,885 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Unum Group were worth $1,806,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the fourth quarter worth about $102,000. 86.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports 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 report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Unum Group from $100.00 to $96.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $95.00 price target (down from $100.00) on shares of Unum Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Unum Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $91.62.

Unum Group Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of Unum Group stock traded down $1.97 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $68.52. 1,503,016 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,441,709. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.39. Unum Group has a twelve month low of $52.65 and a twelve month high of $84.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

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

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 25th will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 25th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Unum Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio is 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.