Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Stake Increased by Zacks Investment Management

Zacks Investment Management increased its holdings in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 995 shares during the quarter. Zacks Investment Management’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $5,432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UNM. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 94.5% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 9,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $541,000 after purchasing an additional 4,425 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in Unum Group by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 17,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,028,000 after buying an additional 859 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Unum Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $58,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,554,000 after buying an additional 156,380 shares during the period. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 36,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,197,000 after acquiring an additional 1,611 shares in the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unum Group Price Performance

NYSE UNM opened at $75.56 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $13.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.46. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $48.38 and a 1 year high of $84.48. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.13.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 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 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 18th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.74%.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

In other news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total transaction of $4,099,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 980,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,402,427.63. The trade was a 4.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total transaction of $579,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UNM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Unum Group from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Barclays increased their price objective on Unum Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Unum Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.36.

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.