Seven Eight Capital LP Invests $365,000 in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 6,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $365,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 7.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC grew its stake in Unum Group by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 8,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Unum Group by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 9,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $416,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 15,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $695,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the period. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.47, for a total transaction of $236,115.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 56,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,952,067.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Unum Group news, Director Timothy F. Keaney sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $1,973,138.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 56,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,952,067.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNM traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $53.58. 1,000,941 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,261,305. Unum Group has a 52 week low of $41.75 and a 52 week high of $54.66. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $51.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.15 billion, a PE ratio of 7.96, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is a boost from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 26th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.69%.

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.