Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Shares Bought by Silver Lake Advisory LLC

Silver Lake Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 71,322 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,122 shares during the period. Unum Group comprises 1.8% of Silver Lake Advisory LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Silver Lake Advisory LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $3,225,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 1.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,585,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $619,086,000 after acquiring an additional 236,136 shares during the period. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 3,687,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $166,734,000 after buying an additional 163,682 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 9.7% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,545,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,416,000 after buying an additional 313,482 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its position in Unum Group by 2.6% during the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,856,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $140,530,000 after buying an additional 71,561 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Unum Group by 79.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,952,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,616,000 after acquiring an additional 866,531 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,241,880.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, 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 transaction of $250,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,772,500. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven Andrew Zabel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.06, for a total transaction of $510,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 122,246 shares in the company, valued at $6,241,880.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 81,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,018,100 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on UNM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Unum Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Unum Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Unum Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.38.

Unum Group Stock Performance

UNM stock traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $51.51. 455,782 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,397,672. 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 has a 52 week low of $41.75 and a 52 week high of $54.57. The business has a 50-day moving average of $51.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.89 billion, a PE ratio of 7.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.87.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.15. Unum Group had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.87 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a $0.365 dividend. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.69%.

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.