Live Oak Investment Partners Sells 595 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Live Oak Investment Partners reduced its stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 61.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 375 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 595 shares during the period. Live Oak Investment Partners’ holdings in Unum Group were worth $27,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 44.9% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,264,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $92,383,000 after purchasing an additional 392,191 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in Unum Group by 151.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 509,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,297,000 after buying an additional 307,175 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Unum Group by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,462,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $106,837,000 after acquiring an additional 276,655 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $11,456,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Unum Group by 50.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,554,000 after acquiring an additional 156,380 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on UNM shares. Barclays raised their target price on Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI upgraded Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $67.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com lowered Unum Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.83.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

In related news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total transaction of $579,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,588,751. This represents a 18.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 980,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,402,427.63. This 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.

Unum Group Trading Down 4.2 %

Shares of NYSE UNM opened at $77.95 on Wednesday. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $48.38 and a 1 year high of $83.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $75.10 and a 200 day moving average of $68.02. The stock has a market cap of $14.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.80.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.14 by ($0.11). Unum Group had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 14.91%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.74%.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.