Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Price Target Raised to $85.00 at Morgan Stanley

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) had its target price lifted by Morgan Stanley from $83.00 to $85.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on UNM. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Unum Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Unum Group from $103.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Unum Group from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Unum Group from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group set a $89.00 target price on Unum Group and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Unum Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.14.

Unum Group Stock Up 1.7%

NYSE UNM opened at $81.41 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $80.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.96. Unum Group has a one year low of $51.80 and a one year high of $84.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $14.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.41.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by ($0.15). Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 12.31%. The business had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 25th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 25th. This is a positive change from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $800,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 51,170 shares in the company, valued at $4,093,600. This represents a 16.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group during the second quarter worth $28,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group during the first quarter worth $30,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 100.0% during the second quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group during the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 196.9% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.