Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 5,952 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 10.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,952 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $2,647,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Unum Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in Unum Group during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 4,500 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.47, for a total value of $236,115.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 56,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,952,067.14. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.47, for a total transaction of $236,115.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,952,067.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy F. Keaney sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.61, for a total value of $420,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 37,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,973,138.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Unum Group from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Unum Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.56.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNM traded down $0.78 during trading on Friday, reaching $49.85. The company had a trading volume of 345,646 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,257,258. The company has a fifty day moving average of $51.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.81. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $41.75 and a 12 month high of $54.57.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 16.02% and a net margin of 10.52%. The company’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.87 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th were issued a $0.365 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 21.69%.

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.