GAMMA Investing LLC Invests $139,000 in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $139,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Unum Group by 79.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,952,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,616,000 after acquiring an additional 866,531 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Unum Group by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 222,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,963,000 after acquiring an additional 28,898 shares during the last quarter. Boone Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Unum Group by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Boone Capital Management LLC now owns 867,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,676,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its holdings in Unum Group by 91.9% in the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 63,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,138,000 after acquiring an additional 30,555 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Unum Group by 154.5% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 50,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,302,000 after acquiring an additional 30,908 shares during the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.15, for a total value of $2,457,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.15, for a total value of $2,457,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Steven Andrew Zabel sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.06, for a total transaction of $510,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 122,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,241,880.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 81,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,018,100. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Unum Group Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:UNM opened at $50.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.87. Unum Group has a one year low of $40.04 and a one year high of $54.57. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $51.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.67.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.14 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 16.03% and a net margin of 10.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.43 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.18 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a $0.365 dividend. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.