Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Shares Sold by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Unum Group by 77.2% to 5,710 shares, decreasing its holdings’ value to $465,000.
• Unum Group's quarterly dividend increased from $0.42 to $0.46 per share, with a payment date set for August 15th.
• Analysts have varied target price revisions for Unum Group, with a consensus price target of $91.62 and ratings varying from "hold" to "strong buy".

Pacer Advisors Inc. lowered its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 77.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,710 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 19,332 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Unum Group were worth $465,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in Unum Group in the first quarter valued at about $46,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in Unum Group in the first quarter valued at about $49,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its holdings in 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 valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 748 shares in the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $102,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its holdings in Unum Group by 60.3% in the first quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,282 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company's stock.

Unum Group Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of UNM traded down $2.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $69.70. The company had a trading volume of 2,986,743 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,486,174. The stock has a market cap of $11.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.47. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $51.80 and a fifty-two week 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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 during 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 quarter last year, the business earned $2.16 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 25th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This is a boost from Unum Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 25th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Unum Group and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays set a $96.00 price objective on shares of Unum Group and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. UBS Group set a $87.00 price objective on shares of Unum Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unum Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $91.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 10,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $800,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.