Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Decreases Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund decreased its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 371 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $2,498,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Unum Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,500,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $326,950,000 after acquiring an additional 55,014 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 50.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,554,000 after buying an additional 156,380 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 16,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,205,000 after buying an additional 5,047 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 89.5% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 111,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,647,000 after buying an additional 52,813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group in the third quarter worth $1,074,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 price target (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Unum Group in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Unum Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Unum Group in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $91.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.17.

Unum Group Stock Up 5.8 %

UNM stock opened at $81.74 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.93 billion, a PE ratio of 8.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.80. 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’s fifty day moving average is $74.51 and its 200 day moving average is $67.33. Unum Group has a one year low of $48.38 and a one year high of $83.96.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.14 by ($0.11). Unum Group had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 14.91%. On average, research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 reacquire up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.74%.

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.