California Public Employees Retirement System Cuts Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 399,415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 16,645 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.20% of Unum Group worth $18,062,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of UNM. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the third quarter worth about $1,019,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in Unum Group by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 29,507 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,451,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 51,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,511,000 after buying an additional 1,318 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Unum Group by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 34,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,692,000 after buying an additional 559 shares during the period. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 77.0% in the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 71,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,509,000 after acquiring an additional 31,034 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 122,246 shares in the company, valued at $6,241,880.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,076,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,922,409.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven Andrew Zabel sold 10,000 shares of the company’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 value of $510,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 122,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 valued at $4,018,100 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Stock Up 0.5 %

UNM stock opened at $51.01 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.86, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Unum Group has a twelve month low of $40.04 and a twelve month high of $54.57. The company’s 50 day moving average is $51.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.66.

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

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.365 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.