Nuveen Asset Management LLC Acquires 24,461 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,221,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,461 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.67% of Unum Group worth $89,211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Unum Group by 8.4% in 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. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,003,918,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,552,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $405,481,000 after acquiring an additional 51,744 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 33.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,930,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $140,973,000 after purchasing an additional 480,926 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,708,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $124,768,000 after purchasing an additional 227,644 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on UNM shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Piper Sandler raised their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Unum Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.50.

Unum Group Trading Up 1.6%

Unum Group stock opened at $82.07 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $78.56 and a 200-day moving average of $75.78. Unum Group has a one year low of $48.38 and a one year high of $84.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of $14.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.38.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by ($0.15). Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 13.81%. The business had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.12 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.79%.

Unum Group declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In related news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total value of $579,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,588,751. This trade represents a 18.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total transaction of $4,099,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 980,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,402,427.63. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 67,000 shares of company stock worth $5,478,750. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

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.