Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Upgraded at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a report published on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $90.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their prior target price of $98.00.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on UNM. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Unum Group in a report on Monday, October 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Unum Group from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Unum Group from $108.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Finally, Atlantic Securities set a $88.00 target price on shares of Unum Group in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.67.

Unum Group Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:UNM opened at $81.30 on Monday. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $69.02 and a 1 year high of $96.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $90.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.65, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.25.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The financial services provider reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.04. Unum Group had a net margin of 1.94% and a return on equity of 12.57%. The company had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, August 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.5050 per share. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 143.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Unum Group news, Director Timothy Keaney sold 4,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.02, for a total transaction of $404,286.00. Following the sale, the director owned 36,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,431,918.04. This represents a 10.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.44, for a total value of $377,760.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 25,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,403,781.32. This trade represents a 13.58% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 10,488 shares of company stock worth $988,396 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unum Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNM. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the third quarter valued at $20,751,000. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 12.2% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,150,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426 shares during the last quarter. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC increased its position in Unum Group by 51.9% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 7,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $640,000 after purchasing an additional 2,494 shares in the last quarter. Composition Wealth LLC increased its position in Unum Group by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Composition Wealth LLC now owns 2,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. increased its position in Unum Group by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 63,663 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,585,000 after purchasing an additional 5,276 shares in the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Unum Group

Unum Group is an insurance holding company that provides employee benefits and related services, primarily to employers and their workers. Its offerings include group disability and life insurance, accident and critical illness coverage, and services that help employers manage employee leave and workplace absence. Through its Unum and Colonial Life businesses, the company also provides voluntary benefits that employees can elect through their workplaces. In the United Kingdom, Unum offers workplace benefits including income protection, life insurance and critical illness coverage.