Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Shares Bought by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,497,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,596,078 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.11% of Unum Group worth $1,496,939,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 188.1% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in Unum Group by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 62,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,714,000 after buying an additional 8,186 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Unum Group by 57.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 71,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,260,000 after purchasing an additional 26,010 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in shares of Unum Group by 95.7% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 20,926 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,244,000 after purchasing an additional 10,235 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Unum Group by 75.6% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 116,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,897,000 after buying an additional 49,960 shares in the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on UNM shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. 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 report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 target price (up from $74.00) on shares of Unum Group in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Unum Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.62.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNM stock opened at $81.87 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $77.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.02. The company has a market capitalization of $14.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $48.38 and a 1-year high of $84.48.

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

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.74%.

Unum Group announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

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

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.