Arizona State Retirement System Reduces Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Arizona State Retirement System lessened its holdings in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,313 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $3,741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of UNM. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,500,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $326,950,000 after buying an additional 55,014 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 50.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,554,000 after acquiring an additional 156,380 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 16,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,205,000 after acquiring an additional 5,047 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 89.5% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 111,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,647,000 after acquiring an additional 52,813 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group in the third quarter valued at $1,074,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

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

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of Unum Group stock opened at $79.05 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.97 billion, a PE ratio of 8.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $48.38 and a 12 month high of $83.96. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $75.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.62.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its quarterly 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is 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 $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNM has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Unum Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.62.

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.