Unum Group $UNM Stock: Retirement Systems of Alabama Boosts Position

Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 284,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,596 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned 0.18% of Unum Group worth $24,997,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. GWN Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Unum Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $708,000. Amundi raised its stake in Unum Group by 1,140.5% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 340,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,436,000 after acquiring an additional 312,999 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in Unum Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $84,097,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the second quarter valued at about $1,482,000. Finally, AXQ Capital LP lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 266.3% during the second quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 27,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,496,000 after purchasing an additional 20,300 shares during the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Lynn Jr sold 2,188 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.31, for a total transaction of $206,350.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 8,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $769,003.74. This trade represents a 21.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lisa Iglesias sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.44, for a total value of $377,760.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 25,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,403,781.32. The trade was a 13.58% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,488 shares of company stock worth $988,396. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UNM. Atlantic Securities set a $88.00 target price on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Unum Group from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $109.00 to $101.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Unum Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $98.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.67.

Unum Group Trading Up 0.1%

Unum Group stock opened at $81.30 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $69.02 and a fifty-two week high of $96.77. The stock has a market cap of $12.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.65, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $90.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.11.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The financial services provider reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.04. Unum Group had a return on equity of 12.57% and a net margin of 1.94%. The company had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a $0.5050 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 143.26%.

Unum Group Company Profile

Unum Group is an insurance holding company that provides employee benefits and related services, primarily to employers and their workers. Its offerings include group disability and life insurance, accident and critical illness coverage, and services that help employers manage employee leave and workplace absence. Through its Unum and Colonial Life businesses, the company also provides voluntary benefits that employees can elect through their workplaces. In the United Kingdom, Unum offers workplace benefits including income protection, life insurance and critical illness coverage.