Mackenzie Financial Corp Buys 78,801 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 347.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 101,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 78,801 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned about 0.05% of Unum Group worth $5,186,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C bought a new position in Unum Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $565,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Unum Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Caxton Associates LP lifted its stake in Unum Group by 280.0% in the second quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 18,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $940,000 after buying an additional 13,544 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 496.6% in the second quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 12,403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $634,000 after purchasing an additional 10,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 4.3% in the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 33,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,717,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,821 shares in the company, valued at $3,507,464.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total value of $3,727,369.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at $58,601,422.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total transaction of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 64,821 shares in the company, valued at $3,507,464.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of UNM opened at $58.88 on Wednesday. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $41.75 and a 1-year high of $59.44. The company has a market cap of $11.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.75, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.14. Unum Group had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The firm had revenue of $3.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.06 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This is an increase from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Unum Group’s payout ratio is currently 24.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unum Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.80.

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.