Quadrature Capital Ltd Acquires 9,579 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 107.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 18,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,579 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $1,099,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of UNM. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 33.9% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 32,989 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,770,000 after purchasing an additional 8,359 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the 1st quarter worth $703,000. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Unum Group by 33.8% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $527,000 after buying an additional 2,605 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 11.7% during the second quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 6,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 662 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 1.8% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $654,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group raised shares of Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI raised Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $66.00 price target (up from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Unum Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.73.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNM opened at $74.96 on Friday. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $42.37 and a fifty-two week high of $77.63. The company has a market cap of $13.69 billion, a PE ratio of 8.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.33.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 15.21%. Unum Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.18%.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In other news, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $227,565.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,554,355.24. This represents a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.92, for a total transaction of $769,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,217,292.84. This trade represents a 15.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 107,914 shares of company stock valued at $7,998,745 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

About Unum Group

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.