GAMMA Investing LLC Increases Stock Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 9,017.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 719,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 711,725 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned approximately 0.41% of Unum Group worth $58,620,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of UNM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,003,918,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Unum Group by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,497,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,496,939,000 after purchasing an additional 1,596,078 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $113,962,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $105,199,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,096,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group set a $89.00 target price on shares of Unum Group and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Unum Group from $103.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of Unum Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Unum Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.29.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In related news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 10,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $800,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,170 shares in the company, valued at $4,093,600. This trade represents a 16.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Unum Group Trading Up 0.2%

Unum Group stock opened at $81.90 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $78.60 and its 200-day moving average is $76.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.29. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $48.38 and a 1 year high of $84.48. The company has a market cap of $14.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.65, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.38.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by ($0.15). Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 13.81%. The business had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.79%.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.