Skyline Advisors Inc. Invests $204,000 in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Skyline Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 2,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Unum Group during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group during the 4th quarter worth about $58,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in Unum Group by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Unum Group by 30.0% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Unum Group stock opened at $78.81 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.43. 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 12-month low of $48.38 and a 12-month high of $84.48.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced 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). Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 13.81%. The company had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 19.79%.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 10,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 51,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,093,600. The trade was a 16.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on UNM. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Unum Group from $76.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Raymond James upgraded shares of 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. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Unum Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.29.

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.