Voya Investment Management LLC Sells 64,679 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Voya Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 20.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 258,036 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 64,679 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $18,844,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Unum Group by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,536 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Unum Group by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $974,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Unum Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 9,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $668,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

In other news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 approximately $2,588,751. The trade was a 18.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Unum Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com cut Unum Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James raised Unum Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $103.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Five investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Unum Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.36.

Unum Group Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE UNM opened at $78.57 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $78.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.12. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $48.38 and a fifty-two week high of $84.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $13.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.30, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.46.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 14.91%. On average, sell-side 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 authorized a stock repurchase 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 reacquire up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.74%.

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.