Wedbush Securities Inc. Invests $390,000 in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Wedbush Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,346 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $390,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of UNM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Unum Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,003,918,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,497,586 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,496,939,000 after buying an additional 1,596,078 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 44.9% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,264,994 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $92,383,000 after acquiring an additional 392,191 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 831,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $60,747,000 after acquiring an additional 277,401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,462,917 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $106,837,000 after acquiring an additional 276,655 shares in the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Transactions at Unum Group

In other news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 980,637 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $80,402,427.63. This trade represents a 4.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total value of $579,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,588,751. This represents a 18.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Unum Group Stock Up 2.8 %

NYSE:UNM traded up $2.13 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $77.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 158,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,524,325. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of $13.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.46. Unum Group has a one year low of $48.38 and a one year high of $84.48. The business's 50-day moving average is $77.80 and its 200-day moving average is $72.95.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 13.81%. Equities research analysts predict that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio is 17.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on UNM shares. UBS Group upped their target price on Unum Group from $75.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Unum Group from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Unum Group from $97.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.