Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Purchases 289 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 4.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 361.5% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Unum Group in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Unum Group during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 86.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unum Group Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of Unum Group stock opened at $72.26 on Friday. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $41.86 and a 12-month high of $72.96. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.82, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.76.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. Analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.52 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, July 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Unum Group news, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.56, for a total value of $104,340.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $581,591.16. This represents a 15.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the business’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. This trade represents a 5.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 77,545 shares of company stock worth $4,380,074. 0.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.73.

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.