Fmr LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Fmr LLC lowered its holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 20.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,970,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,294,826 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC owned 7.10% of Unum Group worth $770,952,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 361.5% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the third quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on UNM. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI raised Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.73.

Unum Group Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of UNM stock opened at $77.07 on Friday. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $41.97 and a fifty-two week high of $77.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $65.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.34, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.76.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 15.21%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total transaction of $3,727,369.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. This trade represents a 5.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.56, for a total transaction of $104,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,361 shares in the company, valued at $581,591.16. The trade was a 15.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 165,709 shares of company stock worth $10,956,914 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Company 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.