South Dakota Investment Council Acquires 87,428 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

South Dakota Investment Council boosted its holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 98.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 176,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 87,428 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $7,986,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. CWM LLC boosted its position in Unum Group by 65.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 1,814 shares during the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Unum Group by 29.0% during the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in Unum Group by 45.8% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Unum Group in the third quarter valued at $392,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Unum Group by 679.4% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 32,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,589,000 after acquiring an additional 28,154 shares during the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Unum Group Stock Performance

UNM traded up $0.09 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $51.88. The stock had a trading volume of 427,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,398,436. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $51.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.63. Unum Group has a one year low of $40.04 and a one year high of $54.57. The firm has a market cap of $9.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.365 dividend. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,772,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Steven Andrew Zabel sold 10,000 shares of Unum Group 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 122,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,241,880.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,772,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 81,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,018,100 over the last 90 days. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.