South Dakota Investment Council Has $18.66 Million Stock Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

South Dakota Investment Council lessened its stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 6.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 229,043 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 16,806 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council owned approximately 0.13% of Unum Group worth $18,658,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of UNM. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the 1st quarter worth about $46,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the 1st quarter worth about $49,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 1,289.7% in the 1st quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 806 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the 4th quarter worth about $102,000. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Unum Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Barclays set a $96.00 price objective on shares of Unum Group and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Unum Group from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $90.14.

Unum Group Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:UNM traded up $0.08 on Friday, hitting $81.09. The stock had a trading volume of 739,647 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,330,089. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $14.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.55, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $80.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.18. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $51.80 and a 1-year 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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.19 by ($0.15). Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 12.31%. The company had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 25th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. This is a boost from Unum Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were 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 owned 51,170 shares in the company, valued at $4,093,600. This trade represents a 16.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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.