JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Price Target to $65.00

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) had its price target raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $64.00 to $65.00 in a research report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

UNM has been the subject of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Unum Group from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Unum Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Unum Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on Unum Group in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. They issued an overweight rating and a $57.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $61.44.

Unum Group Stock Down 4.7 %

Shares of NYSE UNM opened at $53.90 on Wednesday. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $41.75 and a 12 month high of $58.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.01, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50-day moving average of $51.98 and a 200-day moving average of $51.03.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.14. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 10.40%. The company had revenue of $3.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.06 earnings per share. Unum Group’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. This is an increase from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Unum Group’s payout ratio is presently 24.96%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $420,880.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 37,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,973,138.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.47, for a total value of $236,115.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,952,067.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy F. Keaney sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 37,505 shares in the company, valued at $1,973,138.05. 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

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UNM. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter worth $590,489,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 51.7% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,961,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $158,590,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008,776 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 6,498.1% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 636,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,145,000 after acquiring an additional 626,676 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 85.0% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 778,129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,754,000 after acquiring an additional 357,475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,590,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $931,109,000 after purchasing an additional 300,840 shares in the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.