Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $19.02 Million Stock Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 23.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 420,654 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 78,596 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.22% of Unum Group worth $19,022,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UNM. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 61,304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,932,000 after buying an additional 2,370 shares during the period. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 33.2% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 15,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $480,000 after buying an additional 3,799 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 1st quarter valued at $348,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Unum Group by 61.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 76,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 29,166 shares during the period. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. acquired a new position in Unum Group in the 1st quarter worth $227,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Unum Group news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,450 shares in the company, valued at $2,772,500. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Unum Group news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,450 shares in the company, valued at $2,772,500. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.15, for a total transaction of $2,457,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,076,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,922,409.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 81,000 shares of company stock worth $4,018,100 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UNM. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Unum Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Unum Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Unum Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Unum Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.88.

Unum Group Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:UNM opened at $53.66 on Thursday. Unum Group has a 52-week low of $38.34 and a 52-week high of $53.82. The company has a market capitalization of $10.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.86 by ($0.07). Unum Group had a net margin of 10.36% and a return on equity of 16.03%. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Investors of record on Friday, January 26th were paid a $0.365 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 25th. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.50%.

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.