5,050 Shares in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Bought by Taika Capital LP

Taika Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $369,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of UNM. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Unum Group by 60.3% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,218 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $191,000 after acquiring an additional 1,211 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Unum Group by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $781,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,393,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Unum Group by 24.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $149,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Stock Down 0.5 %

UNM stock opened at $79.05 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.62. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $48.38 and a fifty-two week high of $83.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $13.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by ($0.11). Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 13.81%. On average, research analysts expect that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.74%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James upgraded Unum Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 price target (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Unum Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unum Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total transaction of $4,099,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 980,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,402,427.63. The trade was a 4.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total value of $579,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,588,751. This represents a 18.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.