AlphaQuest LLC Sells 34,941 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

AlphaQuest LLC reduced its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 84.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 34,941 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $477,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 55,014 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Unum Group by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,554,000 after purchasing an additional 156,380 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Unum Group by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 16,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 5,047 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Unum Group by 89.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 111,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,647,000 after purchasing an additional 52,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new position in Unum Group in the 3rd quarter worth $1,074,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on UNM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective (up from $74.00) on shares of Unum Group in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James raised shares of Unum Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. 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 research report on Friday, February 28th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.62.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNM stock opened at $77.67 on Thursday. Unum Group has a one year low of $48.38 and a one year high of $83.96. The company’s 50-day moving average is $75.79 and its 200 day moving average is $69.06. The company has a market capitalization of $13.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.29.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 14.91%. Sell-side analysts expect that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.74%.

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.