Prana Capital Management LP Reduces Stock Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Prana Capital Management LP lowered its stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 90.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,025 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 189,041 shares during the period. Prana Capital Management LP's holdings in Unum Group were worth $1,389,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of UNM. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Unum Group in the fourth quarter worth $1,003,918,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,497,586 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,496,939,000 after buying an additional 1,596,078 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the 4th quarter valued at $113,962,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the 4th quarter worth about $65,096,000. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 4th quarter worth about $59,561,000. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Unum Group from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Unum Group from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Unum Group from $103.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $76.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Five investment 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.43.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

In related news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $800,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,093,600. This represents a 16.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total value of $4,099,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 980,637 shares in the company, valued at $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 ninety days, insiders have sold 67,000 shares of company stock worth $5,478,750. Insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Unum Group Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE UNM traded up $0.15 on Tuesday, reaching $82.31. The stock had a trading volume of 232,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,470,861. 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 fifty day moving average price of $78.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.99. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $48.38 and a 12-month high of $84.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.38.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by ($0.15). Unum Group had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The company had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. Unum Group's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 25th. Unum Group's payout ratio is currently 19.79%.

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

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.