Texas Permanent School Fund Sells 3,102 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Texas Permanent School Fund decreased its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM – Get Rating) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 144,948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,102 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $4,567,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UNM. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Unum Group by 140.6% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,485,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,507,000 after purchasing an additional 868,359 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Unum Group by 45.4% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,542,304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,463,000 after purchasing an additional 793,407 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Unum Group by 169.4% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,123,285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,599,000 after acquiring an additional 706,260 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Unum Group by 1,264.2% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 720,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,643,000 after acquiring an additional 667,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in Unum Group during the first quarter worth about $9,362,000. Institutional investors own 85.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on UNM shares. Barclays boosted their target price on Unum Group from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Unum Group from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Unum Group from $34.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Monday, July 11th. Citigroup started coverage on Unum Group in a research note on Monday, May 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Unum Group from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 7,149 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.13, for a total transaction of $251,144.37. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 50,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,783,936.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 35,271 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.49, for a total transaction of $1,287,038.79. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,138,491.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 7,149 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.13, for a total value of $251,144.37. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 50,781 shares in the company, valued at $1,783,936.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 49,453 shares of company stock valued at $1,789,121. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Unum Group stock opened at $35.90 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $33.81 and a 200-day moving average of $31.57. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $22.25 and a 1 year high of $37.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $7.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.29.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.55. The business had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 9.29% and a return on equity of 9.86%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.04 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Unum Group will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 29th will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 28th. This is an increase from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.18%.

Unum Group Profile

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Unum Group, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial protection benefit solutions primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Poland. It operates through Unum US, Unum International, Colonial Life, and Closed Block segments. 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.