Capital Square LLC Purchases New Shares in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Capital Square LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,327 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $250,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of UNM. Farringdon Capital Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 54.2% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 200,664 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $14,654,000 after purchasing an additional 70,557 shares during the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management lifted its position in Unum Group by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 74,377 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,432,000 after buying an additional 995 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 6,014 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EAM Global Investors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,756,000. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

In other news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,284 shares in the company, valued at $2,588,751. This represents a 18.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 980,637 shares of the company's stock, valued at $80,402,427.63. This represents a 4.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Unum Group Stock Up 0.2 %

UNM traded up $0.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $75.85. The company had a trading volume of 1,131,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,298,678. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $77.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.55. The company has a market capitalization of $13.37 billion, a PE ratio of 8.01, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Unum Group has a one year low of $48.38 and a one year high of $84.48.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.14 by ($0.11). Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 13.81%. As a group, equities 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 initiated 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 purchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Unum Group from $75.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Unum Group from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Unum Group from $97.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Unum Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.36.

Unum Group Company 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.