Allianz Asset Management GmbH Acquires 978,937 Shares of Unum Group $UNM

Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 63.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,516,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 978,937 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $195,704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. Algebris UK Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 95.7% during the third quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. now owns 389,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,269,000 after purchasing an additional 190,454 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 53.5% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 69,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,376,000 after buying an additional 24,101 shares during the period. TrueMark Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,063,000. Strs Ohio increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 12.2% in the second quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 44,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,583,000 after buying an additional 4,814 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the third quarter valued at about $14,644,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Unum Group in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Unum Group in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $85.00 price target on Unum Group in a report on Monday, December 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unum Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.04, for a total transaction of $312,160.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 51,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,009,070.88. This represents a 7.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.50, for a total value of $66,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 8,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $657,090. This represents a 9.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,400 shares of company stock worth $951,160. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE UNM opened at $76.44 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $12.79 billion, a PE ratio of 14.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.20. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $77.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.54. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $66.81 and a 12-month high of $84.48.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.15 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 13.09%. Unum Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is 35.87%.

Unum Group declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 4th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Company Profile

Unum Group (NYSE: UNM) is a leading provider of employee benefits in the United States and selected international markets, specializing in disability, life, accident and critical illness insurance. Through both fully insured and self-funded arrangements, the company offers group coverage designed to protect income and mitigate financial hardship for employees and their families. Its portfolio includes short-term and long-term disability plans, group life and accidental death & dismemberment (AD&D) policies, as well as critical illness and hospital indemnity products.

In addition to its core product lines, Unum Group markets voluntary benefits under its Colonial Life brand, allowing employees to purchase supplemental insurance such as accident, cancer, and dental coverage directly through payroll deductions.