Brokerages Set Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) PT at $87.79

Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $88.36.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James raised shares of Unum Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Unum Group from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Unum Group from $97.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Unum Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total transaction of $4,099,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 980,637 shares in the company, valued at $80,402,427.63. The trade was a 4.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total transaction of $579,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,284 shares in the company, valued at $2,588,751. This trade represents a 18.28 % 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unum Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Barrett & Company Inc. increased its position in Unum Group by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Unum Group during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Unum Group by 26.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Unum Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $58,000. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of Unum Group stock opened at $75.28 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.95, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $77.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.85. Unum Group has a twelve month low of $48.38 and a twelve month high of $84.48.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.74%.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are 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.