Woodline Partners LP Decreases Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Woodline Partners LP trimmed its holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 21.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 573,590 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 160,935 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP owned 0.31% of Unum Group worth $41,889,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Barrett & Company Inc. raised its position in Unum Group by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 396 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in Unum Group by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 958 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total value of $579,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,588,751. The trade was a 18.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total transaction of $4,099,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 980,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,402,427.63. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 67,000 shares of company stock worth $5,478,750 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of UNM stock opened at $82.04 on Tuesday. The business's fifty day moving average is $78.65 and its 200 day moving average is $75.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $14.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.66, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.38. Unum Group has a twelve month low of $48.38 and a twelve month high of $84.48.

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

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 18th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on UNM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Unum Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Unum Group from $75.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.43.

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.

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