Venturi Wealth Management LLC Purchases 278 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 30.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $88,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UNM. Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 351,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,667,000 after acquiring an additional 2,492 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,838 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Unum Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $249,000. Finally, Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its holdings in Unum Group by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 39,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,865,000 after buying an additional 1,198 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on UNM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective (up from $74.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $81.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unum Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.92, for a total value of $769,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 54,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,217,292.84. The trade was a 15.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:UNM opened at $74.07 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.29. Unum Group has a 52-week low of $48.38 and a 52-week high of $79.43. The company has a market capitalization of $13.53 billion, a PE ratio of 7.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a fifty day moving average of $74.28 and a 200-day moving average of $66.95.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by ($0.11). Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 13.81%. On average, equities analysts predict that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.74%.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.