LSV Asset Management Purchases 73,700 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

LSV Asset Management lifted its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,930,577 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 73,700 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned approximately 1.50% of Unum Group worth $132,521,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 583.3% during the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,025,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,420,000 after buying an additional 875,000 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 79.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,952,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,616,000 after purchasing an additional 866,531 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 2,441.3% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 540,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,567,000 after purchasing an additional 518,830 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,545,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,416,000 after purchasing an additional 313,482 shares during the period. Finally, Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Unum Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $13,061,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In related news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,772,500. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Unum Group news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 16,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 40,840 shares in the company, valued at $2,042,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,772,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 81,000 shares of company stock worth $4,018,100 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of UNM traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $51.62. 983,565 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,243,274. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of $9.78 billion, a PE ratio of 7.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.87. Unum Group has a 52-week low of $41.75 and a 52-week high of $54.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $51.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.73.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.15. Unum Group had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 16.02%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.87 earnings per share. Unum Group’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a $0.365 dividend. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 21.69%.

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.