Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Shares Bought by Exchange Traded Concepts LLC

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 13,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $1,010,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Unum Group by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,500,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $326,950,000 after buying an additional 55,014 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 5.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,186,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,511,000 after acquiring an additional 66,392 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 151.7% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 509,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,297,000 after acquiring an additional 307,175 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 50.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,554,000 after acquiring an additional 156,380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Unum Group by 24.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 325,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,365,000 after purchasing an additional 64,062 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.16, for a total value of $320,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 58,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,768,822.56. The trade was a 7.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 58,865 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.39, for a total value of $4,437,832.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,007,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $75,917,956.17. This trade represents a 5.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 107,914 shares of company stock valued at $7,998,745. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on UNM shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $91.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays boosted their target price on Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 price target (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Unum Group in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.75.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of Unum Group stock opened at $75.99 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $13.88 billion, a PE ratio of 8.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Unum Group has a 52 week low of $46.39 and a 52 week high of $77.63. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.18.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. Unum Group had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 15.21%. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. Unum Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

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.