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

Key Points

• Unusual options activity hit Unum Group, with traders buying 12,439 call options on Monday — about 1,487% above the stock’s average daily call volume.
• Insiders sold shares recently, including EVP Christopher W. Pyne and EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed, both trimming their positions in separate transactions disclosed in SEC filings.
• Fundamentals and sentiment remain solid: Unum beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, raised dividend support with a 2.1% yield, and analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $93.83.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Traders bought 12,439 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,487% compared to the average daily volume of 784 call options.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 4,852 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.47, for a total value of $351,624.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 52,268 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,787,861.96. This represents a 8.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.14, for a total value of $961,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,587 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,412,922.18. This trade represents a 21.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Unum Group by 70.0% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,079 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $371,000 after buying an additional 2,092 shares during the period. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Unum Group during the 1st quarter worth $73,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Unum Group by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 580,230 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,374,000 after buying an additional 90,650 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems acquired a new stake in Unum Group during the 1st quarter worth $1,575,000. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its stake in Unum Group by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 5,459 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on UNM shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Unum Group from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings raised Unum Group from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Unum Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Unum Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Unum Group from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $93.83.

Unum Group Price Performance

NYSE UNM traded up $0.66 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $87.50. 332,735 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,481,255. The stock has a market cap of $13.98 billion, a PE ratio of 19.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.24. Unum Group has a one year low of $68.28 and a one year high of $87.81. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $79.67 and a 200-day moving average of $76.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.91 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 5.86%.Unum Group's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.04 EPS. Unum Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.600-8.90 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 24th were paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 24th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio is 40.00%.

About Unum Group

Unum Group NYSE: UNM is a leading provider of employee benefits in the United States and selected international markets, specializing in disability, life, accident and critical illness insurance. Through both fully insured and self-funded arrangements, the company offers group coverage designed to protect income and mitigate financial hardship for employees and their families. Its portfolio includes short-term and long-term disability plans, group life and accidental death & dismemberment (AD&D) policies, as well as critical illness and hospital indemnity products.

In addition to its core product lines, Unum Group markets voluntary benefits under its Colonial Life brand, allowing employees to purchase supplemental insurance such as accident, cancer, and dental coverage directly through payroll deductions.

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