Machina Capital S.A.S. Sells 4,282 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Machina Capital S.A.S. cut its stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 54.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,642 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,282 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.'s holdings in Unum Group were worth $266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UNM. Barrett & Company Inc. grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 300.0% in the fourth 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. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Unum Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Unum Group by 4,794.7% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 930 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 911 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 26.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 766 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the company'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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of Unum Group 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,284 shares of the company's stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James upgraded Unum Group from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $108.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays increased their target price on Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Unum Group from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $86.62.

Unum Group Price Performance

NYSE:UNM traded up $1.09 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $78.42. 805,505 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,148,623. The company has a market capitalization of $13.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $75.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.89. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $48.38 and a 12 month high of $83.96.

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 expect that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Unum Group's payout ratio is currently 17.74%.

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.