Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Price Target Raised to $97.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) had its price objective hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $97.00 in a research note released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on UNM. UBS Group lifted their target price on Unum Group from $75.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Raymond James raised shares of Unum Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Unum Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Unum Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.50.

Unum Group Trading Down 0.2 %

UNM stock opened at $77.49 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $78.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.39. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $48.38 and a fifty-two week high of $84.48. The firm has a market cap of $13.66 billion, a PE ratio of 8.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.46. 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 (NYSE:UNM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by ($0.15). Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 13.81%. The business had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.74%.

Unum Group announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase 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 reacquire up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total value of $579,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,588,751. The trade was a 18.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total transaction of $4,099,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 980,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,402,427.63. This trade represents a 4.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Unum Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group in the first quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the first quarter worth $49,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.