Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) EVP Christopher W. Pyne Sells 3,250 Shares

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $227,565.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,762 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,554,355.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Unum Group Price Performance

UNM stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $69.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,062,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,250,269. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $59.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.06. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $41.86 and a fifty-two week high of $70.40. The stock has a market cap of $12.68 billion, a PE ratio of 7.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.76.

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

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

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unum Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 54.2% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 78,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,150,000 after buying an additional 27,599 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 116.3% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 34,606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,857,000 after purchasing an additional 18,604 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 60,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,230,000 after purchasing an additional 2,280 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Unum Group by 625.0% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its position in shares of Unum Group by 0.5% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 159,106 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,538,000 after acquiring an additional 723 shares during the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Unum Group from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.09.

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.