GAMMA Investing LLC Invests $139,000 in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 2,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $139,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Bangor Savings Bank increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 100.0% during the third quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on UNM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Unum Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven Andrew Zabel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.06, for a total value of $510,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 122,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,241,880.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were 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 directly owns 1,076,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,922,409.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Steven Andrew Zabel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.06, for a total transaction of $510,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 122,246 shares in the company, valued at $6,241,880.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 81,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,018,100. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNM opened at $50.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.82, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s 50-day moving average is $51.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.67. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $40.04 and a 1-year high of $54.57.

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

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a $0.365 dividend. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.50%.

Unum Group 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.