Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Position Raised by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 106.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 233,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 120,559 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.12% of Unum Group worth $11,915,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Unum Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,590,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $931,109,000 after purchasing an additional 300,840 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 51.7% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,961,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $158,590,000 after buying an additional 1,008,776 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Unum Group by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,017,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $91,225,000 after buying an additional 291,757 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Unum Group by 62.9% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,119,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,237,000 after acquiring an additional 432,240 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Unum Group by 43.0% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 973,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,021,000 after acquiring an additional 292,917 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total value of $3,727,369.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at $58,601,422.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total value of $3,727,369.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total transaction of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,507,464.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on UNM shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Unum Group from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Unum Group in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.90.

Unum Group Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:UNM opened at $57.35 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.52, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.77. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $41.75 and a 1-year high of $58.17. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $54.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.68.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 10.40%. The company’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.06 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, July 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. This is a boost from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.96%.

Unum Group 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.