Bank of Montreal Can Reduces Stock Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Bank of Montreal Can lowered its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 76.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 157,894 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $2,462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Unum Group by 89.8% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,207,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,728,000 after buying an additional 571,436 shares during the last quarter. Auxier Asset Management lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 0.7% during the second quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 59,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,022,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 3.0% during the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 80,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,091,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 7.9% during the second quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 4,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 9.5% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 413,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,127,000 after purchasing an additional 35,723 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In related news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,507,464.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total value of $3,727,369.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,601,422.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,507,464.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNM opened at $59.31 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $11.23 billion, a PE ratio of 8.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.08. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $41.75 and a 12-month high of $59.83.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.48 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. This is a positive change from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on UNM shares. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Unum Group from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $66.00 target price (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a report on Friday, September 27th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Unum Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.60.

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.