AGF Management Ltd. Sells 22,494 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

AGF Management Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 39.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 22,494 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd.'s holdings in Unum Group were worth $2,490,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Barrett & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 396 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Quarry LP increased its stake in Unum Group by 4,794.7% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 930 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 911 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Unum Group by 26.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 766 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Unum Group during the third quarter worth $58,000. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In related news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 $80,402,427.63. The trade was a 4.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total transaction of $579,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,588,751. This represents a 18.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on UNM. Raymond James raised Unum Group from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $108.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $81.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Unum Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Unum Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.62.

Unum Group Trading Up 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE UNM traded up $2.89 during trading on Monday, reaching $81.72. The company had a trading volume of 2,002,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,142,803. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $48.38 and a 12 month high of $83.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $14.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.63, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74. The company's fifty day moving average price is $76.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.55.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last released 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback 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 repurchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors 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 yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.74%.

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.