Apollon Wealth Management LLC Buys New Shares in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $235,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Unum Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $548,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Unum Group by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 31,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,885,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Unum Group by 24.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $149,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,393,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE UNM opened at $72.58 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.25 billion, a PE ratio of 7.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $41.97 and a 1 year high of $73.62. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $61.92 and its 200-day moving average is $55.95.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. Unum Group had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 15.21%. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. Unum Group’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.53 EPS for the current year.

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

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. Unum Group’s payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of Unum Group 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at $58,601,422.64. This trade represents a 5.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.16, for a total transaction of $320,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 58,741 shares in the company, valued at $3,768,822.56. This trade represents a 7.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 91,844 shares of company stock valued at $5,411,032. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UNM. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.73.

Unum Group Company 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.