Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.37

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, April 12th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a dividend of 0.365 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th.

Unum Group has raised its dividend payment by an average of 6.8% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 15 consecutive years. Unum Group has a payout ratio of 16.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Unum Group to earn $8.76 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.46 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 16.7%.

Unum Group Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of UNM stock opened at $51.78 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.94 billion, a PE ratio of 7.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 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.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 10.36% and a return on equity of 16.03%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.43 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Unum Group news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Steven Andrew Zabel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the 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 directly owns 55,450 shares of the company’s stock, 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 worth $4,018,100. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.