Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Acquires New Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $36,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated bought a new stake in Unum Group in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its stake in Unum Group by 100.0% in the third quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Unum Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in Unum Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Unum Group Stock Performance

UNM opened at $50.75 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization 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 has a 1-year low of $40.04 and a 1-year high of $54.57. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $51.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.65.

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

Unum Group Announces Dividend

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 of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, CFO Steven Andrew Zabel sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.06, for a total value of $510,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 122,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,241,880.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Unum Group news, CFO Steven Andrew Zabel sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.06, for a total value of $510,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 122,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,241,880.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $250,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,772,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 81,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,018,100. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNM has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Unum Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Unum Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Unum Group from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Unum Group from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.38.

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.