HighTower Advisors LLC Acquires 3,030 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 3.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 80,891 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,030 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $4,811,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UNM. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 33.9% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 32,989 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,770,000 after purchasing an additional 8,359 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Unum Group by 33.8% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $527,000 after acquiring an additional 2,605 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Unum Group by 1.8% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $654,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 20.1% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,765 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,470,000 after acquiring an additional 4,823 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 58,865 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.39, for a total transaction of $4,437,832.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,007,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,917,956.17. This trade represents a 5.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,292.84. This represents a 15.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 107,914 shares of company stock valued at $7,998,745. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on UNM shares. UBS Group raised Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI raised 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 report on Thursday, November 14th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Unum Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.64.

Unum Group Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of UNM opened at $72.84 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. Unum Group has a 52-week low of $43.04 and a 52-week high of $77.63. The firm has a market cap of $13.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.88, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s fifty day moving average is $68.23 and its 200-day moving average is $58.66.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

Unum Group 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.