Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Holdings Cut by Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 38.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 150,621 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 92,692 shares during the quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC owned about 0.08% of Unum Group worth $11,000,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Unum Group by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,536 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 18,211 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,330,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 28.8% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 800 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,336 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $974,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 9,151 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $668,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company's stock.

Unum Group Stock Up 1.3%

UNM stock traded up $1.07 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $80.78. 828,590 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,310,283. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $78.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.43. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $48.38 and a 12-month high of $84.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group declared that its board has approved a share 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 reacquire up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.79%.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays boosted their target price on Unum Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of 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 given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Unum Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.50.

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.