8,586 Unum Group $UNM Shares Purchased by Peak Financial Advisors LLC

Peak Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 31.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 35,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,586 shares during the quarter. Unum Group accounts for approximately 1.4% of Peak Financial Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Peak Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $3,144,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UNM. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,084,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $298,287,000 after buying an additional 292,670 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Unum Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $84,097,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in Unum Group by 14.6% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 754,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,089,000 after buying an additional 96,123 shares during the period. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. acquired a new position in Unum Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $58,064,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 21.2% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 631,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,133,000 after acquiring an additional 110,342 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Unum Group news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.44, for a total transaction of $377,760.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 25,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,403,781.32. This trade represents a 13.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 2,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.31, for a total transaction of $206,350.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,154 shares in the company, valued at $769,003.74. The trade was a 21.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,488 shares of company stock valued at $988,396. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Unum Group from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $106.00 price objective on shares of Unum Group in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. UBS Group set a $94.00 target price on Unum Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Unum Group from $117.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Unum Group from $101.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.42.

Unum Group Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:UNM opened at $91.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $92.20 and a 200-day moving average of $83.95. The company has a market cap of $14.44 billion, a PE ratio of 21.26, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.25. Unum Group has a one year low of $69.02 and a one year high of $96.77.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16. Unum Group had a net margin of 5.26% and a return on equity of 12.60%. The company had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, August 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.5050 per share. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. Unum Group’s payout ratio is currently 47.09%.

Unum Group Profile

Unum Group is an insurance company that provides employee benefits and related protection products through employers, as well as selected individual policies. Its offerings are designed to help people manage the financial impact of illness, injury, death and other unexpected events.

The company’s products include short-term and long-term disability insurance, group and individual life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment coverage, and supplemental health benefits such as accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity insurance.