Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Reduces Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lessened its stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 77.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 67,900 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's holdings in Unum Group were worth $1,468,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Unum Group during the 3rd quarter worth $58,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Unum Group by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,342 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,554,000 after buying an additional 156,380 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 36,962 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,197,000 after buying an additional 1,611 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 26.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 766 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,893 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $576,000 after buying an additional 680 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Unum Group from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. 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. Raymond James upgraded shares of Unum Group from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $108.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Unum Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Five investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.36.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of Unum Group stock traded down $0.16 on Tuesday, reaching $78.90. The stock had a trading volume of 205,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,303,350. The business's 50 day moving average is $78.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.24. 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 has a 1 year low of $48.38 and a 1 year high of $84.48. The company has a market cap of $13.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.46.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.14 by ($0.11). Unum Group had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 14.91%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.74%.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan 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 repurchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In other news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the company's 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 directly owns 31,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,588,751. This represents a 18.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $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 of the company's stock, 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. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Unum Group

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.