Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Shares Sold by Csenge Advisory Group

Csenge Advisory Group reduced its holdings in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 20.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,677 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $474,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its stake in Unum Group by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 4,794.7% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 911 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Unum Group by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Live Oak Investment Partners bought a new stake in Unum Group in the third quarter valued at about $58,000. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 target price (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Unum Group in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Unum Group from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Unum Group from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unum Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.33.

Insider Activity

In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 58,865 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.39, for a total value of $4,437,832.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,007,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,917,956.17. This represents a 5.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.92, for a total transaction of $769,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,827 shares in the company, valued at $4,217,292.84. This represents a 15.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 78,865 shares of company stock worth $5,952,032 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Stock Down 0.5 %

UNM opened at $73.98 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $74.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.35. 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 stock has a market cap of $13.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.80. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $48.38 and a 12 month high of $79.43.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 predict that Unum Group will post 9.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.74%.

Unum Group declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.