Renaissance Technologies LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lowered its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 52.4% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 393,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 433,700 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $20,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Unum Group by 361.5% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Unum Group during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in Unum Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Unum Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Unum Group in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNM stock opened at $57.34 on Friday. Unum Group has a 52-week low of $41.75 and a 52-week high of $58.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $10.65 billion, a PE ratio of 8.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.65.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 10.40%. Unum Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.06 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This is a positive change from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.96%.

Unum Group declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Unum Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Unum Group from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Unum Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total transaction of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,507,464.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Unum Group news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total transaction of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,507,464.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total value of $3,727,369.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.