Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Receives “Neutral” Rating from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated their neutral rating on shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $79.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous price target of $74.00.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI raised Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays raised their price target on Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.55.

Unum Group Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:UNM opened at $73.36 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $72.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.72. The company has a market cap of $13.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.94, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. Unum Group has a one year low of $44.83 and a one year high of $77.63.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is 18.18%.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In other news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.92, for a total transaction of $769,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,217,292.84. The trade was a 15.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 $581,591.16. The trade was a 15.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 107,914 shares of company stock worth $7,998,745 in the last three months. 0.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $326,950,000 after buying an additional 55,014 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 89.8% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,207,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,728,000 after acquiring an additional 571,436 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,186,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $70,511,000 after acquiring an additional 66,392 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 151.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 509,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,297,000 after purchasing an additional 307,175 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,554,000 after purchasing an additional 156,380 shares during the period. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.