Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) CAO Walter Lynn Rice Jr Sells 900 Shares

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.50, for a total value of $66,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $657,090. This represents a 9.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Unum Group stock traded up $2.22 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $76.48. The stock had a trading volume of 1,826,257 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,417,417. The company has a market cap of $12.80 billion, a PE ratio of 14.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $66.81 and a fifty-two week high of $84.48. The company has a 50-day moving average of $75.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $76.22.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.15 by ($0.06). Unum Group had a net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 13.09%. The company had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. Unum Group’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 4th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 24th were issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 24th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.87%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 42.7% in the second quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 26,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,155,000 after buying an additional 7,981 shares during the period. BTC Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Unum Group by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 71,836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,731,000 after acquiring an additional 3,399 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Unum Group by 0.3% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 60,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,918,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $646,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,416,124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,358,000 after acquiring an additional 6,648 shares during the period. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Unum Group from $94.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Unum Group from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Monday. Wolfe Research upgraded Unum Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Unum Group from $79.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.55.

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.