Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Lowers Stock Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd cut its holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 62.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,003 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,155 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd's holdings in Unum Group were worth $408,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its stake in Unum Group by 28.3% during the first quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 3,802 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 838 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group during the fourth quarter worth about $240,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 88.4% during the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 17,302 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,409,000 after purchasing an additional 8,120 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 202.1% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 945,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $77,512,000 after purchasing an additional 632,358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the fourth quarter worth about $105,199,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on UNM. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $100.00 to $96.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler raised their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $95.00 price objective (down previously from $100.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group set a $87.00 price target on shares of Unum Group and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Five equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Unum Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $91.62.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of Unum Group stock traded down $2.00 during trading on Friday, hitting $69.81. 1,163,450 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,429,297. 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 fifty-two week low of $51.80 and a fifty-two week high of $84.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $79.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.49.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 13.44% and a net margin of 11.77%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.16 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 25th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 25th. This is an increase from Unum Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Unum Group news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 10,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 51,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,093,600. The trade was a 16.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

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.