Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Price Target Raised to $64.00

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) had its target price increased by Morgan Stanley from $62.00 to $64.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Unum Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Unum Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.09.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of Unum Group stock opened at $64.12 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $11.71 billion, a PE ratio of 6.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a 50 day moving average of $58.81 and a 200-day moving average of $54.51. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $41.75 and a 1-year high of $64.91.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total value of $3,727,369.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at $58,601,422.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total transaction of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,821 shares in the company, valued at $3,507,464.31. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total value of $3,727,369.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at $58,601,422.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Unum Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted 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 valued at $158,590,000 after buying an additional 1,008,776 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 89.8% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,207,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,728,000 after acquiring an additional 571,436 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Unum Group by 62.9% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,119,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,237,000 after acquiring an additional 432,240 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in Unum Group by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 872,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,609,000 after acquiring an additional 64,661 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Unum Group by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 413,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,127,000 after purchasing an additional 35,723 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

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.