Vest Financial LLC Boosts Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 1,740.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 627,582 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 593,479 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC owned 0.36% of Unum Group worth $51,123,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new stake in Unum Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,816,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $105,199,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Unum Group by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,552,252 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $405,481,000 after purchasing an additional 51,744 shares during the last quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Unum Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $341,000. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter worth $230,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Unum Group from $103.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Unum Group from $76.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Unum Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 now directly owns 51,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,093,600. This trade represents a 16.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of UNM stock traded up $1.62 on Friday, reaching $81.63. The company had a trading volume of 757,948 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,314,856. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.23 billion, a PE ratio of 8.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Unum Group has a one year low of $48.38 and a one year high of $84.48. The business's 50-day moving average is $78.59 and its 200 day moving average is $76.96.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.19 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 25th. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.79%.

Unum Group announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.