Investors Purchase High Volume of Unum Group Call Options (NYSE:UNM)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Investors purchased 11,016 Unum Group call options, roughly 303% above the average volume of 2,733 contracts.
• Analysts remain generally bullish: Eight analysts rate the stock a Buy and six rate it a Hold, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $99.42.
• Shareholder returns strengthened: Unum authorized a $1 billion share-repurchase program covering up to 7% of its shares and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.505 per share, or $2.02 annually.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 11,016 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 303% compared to the average volume of 2,733 call options.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

In other news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.44, for a total value of $377,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 25,453 shares in the company, valued at $2,403,781.32. This trade represents a 13.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Keaney sold 4,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.02, for a total transaction of $404,286.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 36,502 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,431,918.04. This trade represents a 10.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 10,488 shares of company stock worth $988,396 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Unum Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. CX Institutional boosted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 57.8% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 352 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the first quarter worth $29,000. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the second quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on UNM shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Atlantic Securities set a $88.00 price target on Unum Group in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $106.00 price objective on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research decreased their target price on Unum Group from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.42.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of UNM stock traded up $2.83 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $92.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 383,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,544,317. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business has a fifty day moving average of $91.41 and a 200-day moving average of $86.04. Unum Group has a twelve month low of $69.02 and a twelve month high of $96.77. The stock has a market cap of $14.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.25.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.16. Unum Group had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 5.26%.The firm had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.92 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Unum Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.600-8.900 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.64 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, August 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 24th were given a dividend of $0.5050 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 24th. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Unum Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.09%.

Unum Group Company Profile

Unum Group is an insurance company that provides employee benefits and related financial protection products to individuals, employers and their workforces. Its offerings include disability insurance, group and individual life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment coverage, long-term care insurance, and supplemental health benefits.

The company serves employers through workplace benefits programs, including absence-management and leave-administration services. Through its Colonial Life business, Unum also offers voluntary benefits such as accident, critical illness, hospital indemnity and dental insurance, which employees may obtain through the workplace.

Unum Group traces its history to 1848, when Union Mutual Life Insurance Company was established in Maine.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.