Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Shares Sold by Machina Capital S.A.S.

Machina Capital S.A.S. lowered its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 54.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,282 shares during the quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Unum Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,500,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $326,950,000 after buying an additional 55,014 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Unum Group by 50.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,554,000 after buying an additional 156,380 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Unum Group by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 16,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,205,000 after buying an additional 5,047 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in Unum Group by 89.5% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 111,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,647,000 after buying an additional 52,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Unum Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,074,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have 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 objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Unum Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Unum Group from $81.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 31,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,588,751. This trade represents a 18.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total value of $4,099,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 980,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,402,427.63. This represents a 4.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Unum Group Stock Performance

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

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Unum Group’s payout ratio is currently 17.74%.

Unum Group announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.