Janus Henderson Group PLC Purchases 195,947 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 146.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 330,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 195,947 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $24,116,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of UNM. Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Unum Group in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Unum Group in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in Unum Group by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Finally, Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Unum Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Unum Group from $103.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Raymond James raised shares of Unum Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $75.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $800,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 51,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,093,600. This represents a 16.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 980,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,402,427.63. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 67,000 shares of company stock valued at $5,478,750. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Unum Group Price Performance

UNM stock opened at $80.78 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $78.50 and a 200 day moving average of $75.56. The company has a market cap of $14.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.53, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.38.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.19 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.34 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 13.81%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.79%.

Unum Group declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are 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.