103,143 Shares in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Purchased by New Age Alpha Advisors LLC

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 103,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,533,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Unum Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 4,794.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 911 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Unum Group by 26.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 price target (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Unum Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Five equities 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Unum Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.62.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

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

Unum Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNM opened at $81.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.28. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $48.38 and a 1-year high of $84.48. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.47 billion, a PE ratio of 8.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by ($0.11). Unum Group had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 14.91%. On average, research analysts predict that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is 17.74%.

Unum Group declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 18th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.