Insider Selling: Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) EVP Sells 10,000 Shares of Stock

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $800,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,093,600. This represents a 16.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Unum Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNM opened at $79.70 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $13.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.42, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $48.38 and a 12-month high of $84.48.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.34 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.79%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Unum Group in the 1st quarter valued at $52,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the 1st quarter worth $207,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 86.6% in the 1st quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 651,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,102,000 after acquiring an additional 302,587 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the first quarter valued at about $518,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 67.2% during the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 1,708 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James raised shares of Unum Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of Unum Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Unum Group from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Unum Group from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.50.

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.