Unum Group $UNM Stock: Machina Capital S.A.S. Decreases Stake

Machina Capital S.A.S. decreased its holdings in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 56.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,026 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $954,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Csenge Advisory Group grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 6,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $553,000 after acquiring an additional 1,091 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Unum Group by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 21,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,847,000 after acquiring an additional 1,244 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC raised its stake in Unum Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 97,955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,594,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake in Unum Group by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 284,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,997,000 after acquiring an additional 9,596 shares during the period. Finally, Fulcrum Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in Unum Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $626,000. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Unum Group Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of UNM opened at $79.11 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $12.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $69.02 and a 1 year high of $96.77. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.13.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The financial services provider reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 1.94% and a return on equity of 12.57%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 26th that permits the company to repurchase $1 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.5050 per share. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is 143.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other news, CAO Lynn Jr sold 2,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.31, for a total transaction of $206,350.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 8,154 shares in the company, valued at $769,003.74. This trade represents a 21.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy F. Keaney sold 4,300 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.02, for a total value of $404,286.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 36,502 shares in the company, valued at $3,431,918.04. This trade represents a 10.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 10,488 shares of company stock valued at $988,396 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on UNM shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Unum Group from $108.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Unum Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $109.00 to $101.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Unum Group from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Unum Group from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.75.

About Unum Group

Unum Group is an insurance holding company that provides employee benefits and related services, primarily to employers and their workers. Its offerings include group disability and life insurance, accident and critical illness coverage, and services that help employers manage employee leave and workplace absence. Through its Unum and Colonial Life businesses, the company also provides voluntary benefits that employees can elect through their workplaces. In the United Kingdom, Unum offers workplace benefits including income protection, life insurance and critical illness coverage.