Moran Wealth Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Moran Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 25.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,259 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,349 shares during the quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $1,187,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,500,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $326,950,000 after buying an additional 55,014 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Unum Group by 50.0% during the third 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. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Unum Group by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 16,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,205,000 after acquiring an additional 5,047 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Unum Group by 89.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 111,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,647,000 after acquiring an additional 52,813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group during the 3rd quarter worth $1,074,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Unum Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Unum Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In related news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total value of $4,099,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 980,637 shares in the company, valued at $80,402,427.63. This represents a 4.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNM opened at $78.69 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $13.91 billion, a PE ratio of 8.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $48.38 and a fifty-two week high of $83.96. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.74%.

Unum Group announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 18th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.