Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Shares Sold by LSV Asset Management

LSV Asset Management decreased its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,736,640 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 67,236 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned 1.50% of Unum Group worth $199,857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Unum Group by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,497,586 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,496,939,000 after acquiring an additional 1,596,078 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group during the 4th quarter worth $1,003,918,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Unum Group by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,552,252 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $405,481,000 after purchasing an additional 51,744 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Unum Group by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,462,917 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $106,837,000 after buying an additional 276,655 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in Unum Group by 44.9% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,264,994 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $92,383,000 after buying an additional 392,191 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on UNM. UBS Group raised their price target on Unum Group from $75.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Unum Group from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Unum Group from $97.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.36.

Unum Group Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE UNM traded up $0.84 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $77.75. The company had a trading volume of 433,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,282,075. The firm's 50 day moving average is $77.78 and its 200 day moving average is $73.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.28. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $48.38 and a fifty-two week high of $84.48. The company has a market capitalization of $13.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.46.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. Unum Group's payout ratio is 17.74%.

Unum Group declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 4.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 value of $579,250.00. Following the completion of 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 currently owned by insiders.

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.