Duality Advisers LP Raises Stock Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Duality Advisers LP lifted its holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 50.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 33,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,184 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $1,509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of UNM. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 100.0% in the third quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Unum Group during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new position in Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Unum Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Unum Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Unum Group from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Unum Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.15, for a total value of $2,457,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,076,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,922,409.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.15, for a total transaction of $2,457,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,076,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,922,409.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven Andrew Zabel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.06, for a total transaction of $510,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 122,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,241,880.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 81,000 shares of company stock worth $4,018,100 over the last quarter. 0.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of Unum Group stock opened at $51.79 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $40.04 and a 1 year high of $54.57. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.59. The firm has a market cap of $9.94 billion, a PE ratio of 7.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.87.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.86 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 16.03% and a net margin of 10.36%. Unum Group’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.43 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a dividend of $0.365 per share. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.50%.

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.