GSA Capital Partners LLP Grows Stock Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $1,610,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UNM. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 116.3% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 34,606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,857,000 after acquiring an additional 18,604 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Unum Group by 105.8% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 377,627 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,263,000 after acquiring an additional 194,125 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Unum Group during the first quarter worth $218,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Unum Group by 3.1% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $674,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 5.3% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Unum Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Unum Group news, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 3,250 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $227,565.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,554,355.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.56, for a total value of $104,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $581,591.16. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $227,565.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,554,355.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 77,545 shares of company stock valued at $4,380,074 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE UNM opened at $71.30 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The business has a 50-day moving average of $60.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.51. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $41.86 and a 1 year high of $71.42.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. Unum Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.18%.

Unum Group announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.