Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Shares Purchased by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 14.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 711,866 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 88,142 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.39% of Unum Group worth $51,988,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UNM. Barrett & Company Inc. grew its stake in Unum Group by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 4,794.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 911 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Unum Group by 26.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on UNM. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Unum Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Unum Group from $81.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total transaction of $4,099,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 980,637 shares in the company, valued at $80,402,427.63. This trade represents a 4.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total transaction of $579,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,588,751. The trade was a 18.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Unum Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNM opened at $71.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.28. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $48.38 and a 1-year high of $84.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.06.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.14 by ($0.11). Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 13.81%. Equities analysts predict that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.74%.

Unum Group declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.