Richard P. Mckenney Sells 50,000 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Stock

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total transaction of $4,099,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 980,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,402,427.63. The trade was a 4.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Unum Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNM opened at $79.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company’s 50 day moving average is $75.36 and its 200-day moving average is $68.27. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $48.38 and a 12-month high of $83.96.

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

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James upgraded Unum Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 price target (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.62.

Institutional Trading of Unum Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Unum Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,003,918,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Unum Group by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,497,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,496,939,000 after buying an additional 1,596,078 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Unum Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $113,962,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in Unum Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $105,199,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,096,000. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Unum Group Company 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.