Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Raises Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 79,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,555 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $5,779,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the third quarter worth $58,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Unum Group by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,554,000 after acquiring an additional 156,380 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Unum Group by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 36,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,197,000 after acquiring an additional 1,611 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Unum Group by 26.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $576,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Unum Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $75.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Unum Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Unum Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.36.

Unum Group Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:UNM opened at $74.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.46. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $77.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.64. 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.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 14.91%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.74%.

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.