1,440,490 Shares in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Acquired by Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,440,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $105,199,000. Unum Group makes up about 0.9% of Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI owned 0.79% of Unum Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UNM. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $249,000. Teza Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,963,000. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 61.0% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 11,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $809,000 after acquiring an additional 4,196 shares during the period. Strategic Global Advisors LLC grew its position in Unum Group by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Global Advisors LLC now owns 32,344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,362,000 after purchasing an additional 1,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in Unum Group by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 219,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,021,000 after purchasing an additional 23,461 shares in the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on UNM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $103.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Unum Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.43.

Unum Group Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of UNM stock opened at $82.04 on Tuesday. Unum Group has a 52-week low of $48.38 and a 52-week high of $84.48. The stock has a market cap of $14.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $78.65 and a 200-day moving average of $75.99.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 25th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is 19.79%.

Unum Group announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $80,402,427.63. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total transaction of $579,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,588,751. This trade represents a 18.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 67,000 shares of company stock worth $5,478,750 in the last quarter. 0.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.