Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 399,415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 16,645 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $18,062,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 866,481 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,182,000 after buying an additional 122,944 shares in the last quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 112,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,082,000 after acquiring an additional 2,586 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 50.4% in the fourth quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 33,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,509,000 after acquiring an additional 11,184 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 33,607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 4,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Unum Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $339,000. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,772,500. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.15, for a total value of $2,457,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,076,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,922,409.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,450 shares in the company, valued at $2,772,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 81,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,018,100 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNM opened at $51.01 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $9.79 billion, a PE ratio of 7.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.87. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $40.04 and a fifty-two week high of $54.57. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.86 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $3.15 billion for 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 for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.43 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.18 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid 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 2.86%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is currently 22.50%.

Unum Group 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.