Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Shares Sold by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 55.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 532,714 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 668,716 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned about 0.29% of Unum Group worth $38,904,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 grew its holdings in Unum Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 18,211 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,330,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in Unum Group by 28.8% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 800 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in 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 valued at $974,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 9,151 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $668,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unum Group Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:UNM traded down $0.51 on Wednesday, hitting $81.50. 271,728 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,311,065. The company has a market cap of $14.21 billion, a PE ratio of 8.61, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Unum Group has a 52 week low of $48.38 and a 52 week high of $84.48. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.03.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.34 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The firm's revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 25th. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In related news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total transaction of $4,099,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 980,637 shares of the company's stock, valued at $80,402,427.63. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $800,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 51,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,093,600. The trade was a 16.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 67,000 shares of company stock valued at $5,478,750 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNM has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com cut Unum Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James raised Unum Group from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $108.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.43.

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.