Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) CAO Sells $104,340.00 in Stock

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.56, for a total value of $104,340.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,361 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $581,591.16. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Unum Group Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of UNM stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $69.45. 1,062,654 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,250,269. Unum Group has a 52-week low of $41.86 and a 52-week high of $70.40. The stock's fifty day moving average is $59.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market cap of $12.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.76.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.52 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Unum Group's payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, July 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays raised their price objective on Unum Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Unum Group from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Unum Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.09.

Institutional Trading of Unum Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 361.5% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group in the third quarter worth about $31,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company's stock.

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.

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