Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Stock Sees Unusually High Call Option Buying

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders purchased 20,300 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 659% compared to the typical volume of 2,674 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on UNM. UBS Group set a $94.00 price objective on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Atlantic Securities set a $88.00 price target on Unum Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research cut their price target on Unum Group from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 6th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $106.00 target price on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Unum Group from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Unum Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.42.

Unum Group Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE UNM traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $89.70. 609,815 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,552,512. The business’s 50 day moving average is $92.02 and its 200-day moving average is $83.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $69.02 and a 12-month high of $96.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.25.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.16. The business had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 5.26% and a return on equity of 12.60%. The company’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.92 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, August 26th that permits the company to buy back $1 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.5050 per share. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.09%.

Insider Activity

In other Unum Group news, Director Timothy Keaney sold 4,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.02, for a total value of $404,286.00. Following the sale, the director owned 36,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,431,918.04. This represents a 10.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.44, for a total value of $377,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 25,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,403,781.32. This represents a 13.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 10,488 shares of company stock worth $988,396. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unum Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Unum Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. CX Institutional grew its stake in Unum Group by 57.8% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. City State Bank purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the second quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $47,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unum Group Company Profile

Unum Group is an insurance company that provides employee benefits and related protection products through employers, as well as selected individual policies. Its offerings are designed to help people manage the financial impact of illness, injury, death and other unexpected events.

The company’s products include short-term and long-term disability insurance, group and individual life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment coverage, and supplemental health benefits such as accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity insurance.