Pacer Advisors Inc. Acquires 20,478 Shares of Unum Group $UNM

Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 216.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 20,478 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $2,328,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Unum Group in the second quarter worth $1,113,353,000. Teewinot Capital Advisers L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the first quarter worth about $58,881,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its stake in Unum Group by 762.9% in the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 712,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,518,000 after buying an additional 629,665 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 65.2% during the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 950,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $77,387,000 after buying an additional 375,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in Unum Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,601,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley set a $85.00 price objective on Unum Group in a research note on Monday, December 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Unum Group from $94.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Unum Group from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.91.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of UNM stock opened at $78.30 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $76.36 and its 200 day moving average is $75.98. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $66.81 and a 1-year high of $84.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $13.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.26, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.20.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released 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 firm had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 24th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 24th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.87%.

Unum Group declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 900 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $657,090. The trade was a 9.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Andrew Zabel sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.38, for a total value of $572,850.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 113,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,692,578.66. This represents a 6.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 12,400 shares of company stock worth $951,160 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

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.