Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 90,160 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 30.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 210,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 90,160 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $9,522,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Unum Group by 79.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,952,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,616,000 after buying an additional 866,531 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Unum Group by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 222,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,963,000 after buying an additional 28,898 shares in the last quarter. Boone Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Unum Group by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Boone Capital Management LLC now owns 867,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,676,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its position in shares of Unum Group by 91.9% in the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 63,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,138,000 after buying an additional 30,555 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Unum Group by 5,728.7% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 221,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,997,000 after purchasing an additional 217,288 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, CFO Steven Andrew Zabel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.06, for a total value of $510,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 122,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,241,880.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Steven Andrew Zabel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.06, for a total transaction of $510,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 122,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,241,880.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.15, for a total transaction of $2,457,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,076,753 shares in the company, valued at $52,922,409.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 81,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,018,100 in the last three months. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Unum Group from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Unum Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.38.

Unum Group Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:UNM opened at $50.39 on Wednesday. Unum Group has a 52-week low of $39.71 and a 52-week high of $54.57. The company has a market capitalization of $9.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.86 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 10.36% and a return on equity of 16.03%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.43 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a $0.365 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.50%.

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.