Brown Advisory Inc. Sells 354 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Brown Advisory Inc. reduced its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 5.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 354 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Unum Group by 7.1% in the first quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 33,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,706,000 after acquiring an additional 2,208 shares during the last quarter. Callan Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Unum Group by 8.5% in the first quarter. Callan Capital LLC now owns 9,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $801,000 after acquiring an additional 770 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Unum Group by 58.0% in the first quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 31,401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,558,000 after acquiring an additional 11,524 shares during the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. raised its stake in shares of Unum Group by 2.1% in the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 11,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $908,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the first quarter worth about $49,000. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Unum Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNM opened at $79.00 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $80.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.02. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $51.80 and a 1 year high of $84.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.41.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.34 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 12.31%. The business’s revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 25th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. This is a positive change from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 25th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 51,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,093,600. This trade represents a 16.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Unum Group from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Unum Group from $103.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Unum Group from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Barclays set a $96.00 target price on shares of Unum Group and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Five research 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.14.

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.