Jones Financial Companies Lllp Raises Stock Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 124.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,252 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Unum Group in the 3rd quarter worth $548,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the third quarter worth $235,000. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the third quarter worth $340,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 435.6% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 33,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,974,000 after buying an additional 27,008 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 4.8% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Trading Up 2.4 %

NYSE UNM opened at $78.99 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $75.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.18. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $48.38 and a 12 month high of $83.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.34, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by ($0.11). Unum Group had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 14.91%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 18th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total transaction of $4,099,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 980,637 shares in the company, valued at $80,402,427.63. This represents a 4.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total transaction of $579,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,284 shares in the company, valued at $2,588,751. This trade represents a 18.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on UNM. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James raised shares of Unum Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Unum Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.62.

About Unum Group

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.