Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Raises Holdings in Unum Group $UNM

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 20.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 502,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 84,938 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $39,063,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of UNM. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,113,353,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Unum Group by 7.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,341,589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $271,862,000 after buying an additional 219,076 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in Unum Group by 11.5% during the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,537,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $124,143,000 after buying an additional 159,084 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Unum Group by 3.6% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,482,096 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $119,235,000 after buying an additional 51,750 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Unum Group by 0.5% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,416,124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,358,000 after acquiring an additional 6,648 shares in the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unum Group Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:UNM opened at $79.11 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $13.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.20. Unum Group has a one year low of $66.81 and a one year high of $84.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.05.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.15 by ($0.06). Unum Group had a return on equity of 13.09% and a net margin of 6.99%.The business had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. Unum Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 24th were issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 24th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other news, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.04, for a total value of $312,160.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 51,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,009,070.88. This represents a 7.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven Andrew Zabel sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.38, for a total transaction of $572,850.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 113,807 shares in the company, valued at $8,692,578.66. The trade was a 6.18% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 12,400 shares of company stock worth $951,160 in the last ninety days. 0.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Unum Group in a report on Monday, December 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Unum Group from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays increased their target price on Unum Group from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Unum Group from $94.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.91.

About Unum Group

Unum Group (NYSE: UNM) is a leading provider of employee benefits in the United States and selected international markets, specializing in disability, life, accident and critical illness insurance. Through both fully insured and self-funded arrangements, the company offers group coverage designed to protect income and mitigate financial hardship for employees and their families. Its portfolio includes short-term and long-term disability plans, group life and accidental death & dismemberment (AD&D) policies, as well as critical illness and hospital indemnity products.

In addition to its core product lines, Unum Group markets voluntary benefits under its Colonial Life brand, allowing employees to purchase supplemental insurance such as accident, cancer, and dental coverage directly through payroll deductions.