Quest Partners LLC Cuts Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Quest Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 24.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 41,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,253 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $2,465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 361.5% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.56, for a total value of $104,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $581,591.16. This trade represents a 15.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Hanley Ronald P. O sold 14,299 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.10, for a total transaction of $1,030,957.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 38,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,798,849.90. This trade represents a 26.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 91,844 shares of company stock valued at $5,411,032 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $66.00 price objective (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Friday, September 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Unum Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.73.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNM opened at $73.19 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $61.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market cap of $13.37 billion, a PE ratio of 7.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.76. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $41.86 and a 1 year high of $73.24.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 15.21%. Unum Group’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

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.