New York State Teachers Retirement System Has $12.60 Million Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

New York State Teachers Retirement System lessened its holdings in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 1.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 211,912 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,154 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $12,596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Unum Group by 361.5% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Unum Group during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in Unum Group during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Unum Group during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Unum Group during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Trading Down 0.1 %

UNM opened at $64.12 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.76. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $41.75 and a 12 month high of $64.91. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. Unum Group had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 15.21%. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.18%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $66.00 price target (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total transaction of $3,727,369.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,065,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,601,422.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total transaction of $3,727,369.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,065,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,601,422.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total transaction of $541,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,821 shares in the company, valued at $3,507,464.31. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

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.