Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Shares Bought by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 13.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 33,607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,100 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $1,520,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated acquired a new position in Unum Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Unum Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bangor Savings Bank grew its holdings in Unum Group by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Stock Down 1.2 %

UNM stock opened at $50.75 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $51.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.69. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $40.04 and a 12 month high of $54.57. The company has a market cap of $9.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

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

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a dividend of $0.365 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is currently 22.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Unum Group from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Unum Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Unum Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Unum Group from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Unum Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.15, for a total transaction of $2,457,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,076,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,922,409.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 122,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,241,880.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.15, for a total transaction of $2,457,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,076,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,922,409.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 81,000 shares of company stock worth $4,018,100. 0.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.