Pitcairn Co. Sells 560 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Pitcairn Co. cut its holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 9,201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 560 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $672,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,554,000 after purchasing an additional 156,380 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Unum Group by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 16,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,205,000 after buying an additional 5,047 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the third quarter worth about $1,074,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the 4th quarter worth about $8,816,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,552,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $405,481,000 after acquiring an additional 51,744 shares during the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total value of $4,099,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 980,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,402,427.63. The trade was a 4.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total value of $579,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,284 shares in the company, valued at $2,588,751. The trade was a 18.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Unum Group from $75.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Unum Group from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut Unum Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Unum Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.86.

Unum Group Trading Down 10.2 %

Shares of UNM opened at $71.14 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $12.58 billion, a PE ratio of 7.51, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $48.38 and a 1 year high of $84.48. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.06.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.14 by ($0.11). Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 13.81%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.74%.

About Unum Group

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.