Citigroup Inc. Trims Stock Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Citigroup Inc. cut its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM – Get Rating) by 25.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 57,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 19,825 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $2,356,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in Unum Group by 514.7% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,292 shares in the last quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Unum Group during the fourth quarter worth $77,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Unum Group by 96.3% during the fourth quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 1,436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Unum Group by 39.9% during the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 3,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 931 shares in the last quarter. 79.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unum Group Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:UNM opened at $45.52 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.47. Unum Group has a twelve month low of $31.11 and a twelve month high of $46.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market capitalization of $8.97 billion, a PE ratio of 6.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.06.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 14.67%. Unum Group’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.36 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Unum Group will post 7.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 19th. Investors of record on Friday, April 28th were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 27th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.71, for a total value of $125,188.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $318,290.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 2,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.71, for a total value of $125,188.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $318,290.49. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gloria C. Larson purchased 3,270 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $39.78 per share, for a total transaction of $130,080.60. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 119,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,767,473.88. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,351 shares of company stock valued at $1,836,238 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNM has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Unum Group from $51.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 5th. Barclays upped their price target on Unum Group from $41.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Unum Group from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Unum Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $44.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Monday, March 20th. Finally, Citigroup raised Unum Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $49.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unum Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.00.

About Unum Group

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Unum Group engages in the provision of financial protection benefits. Its services include disability, life, accident, critical illness, dental, vision, and other related services. It operates through the following segments: Unum US, Unum International, Colonial Life, Closed Block, and Corporate. The Unum US segment focuses on group disability, group life and accidental death and dismemberment products, and supplemental and voluntary lines of business.