Moors & Cabot Inc. Makes New Investment in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Moors & Cabot Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 3,791 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UNM. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Unum Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,130,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 80.7% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 64,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,436,000 after purchasing an additional 28,580 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in Unum Group by 8.0% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 872,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,609,000 after purchasing an additional 64,661 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Unum Group during the first quarter valued at $703,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new stake in Unum Group in the second quarter valued at $3,945,000. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

In related news, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.56, for a total transaction of $104,340.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $581,591.16. This trade represents a 15.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.61, for a total value of $363,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 35,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,602,342.40. The trade was a 12.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 165,709 shares of company stock valued at $10,956,914 over the last 90 days. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on UNM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on Unum Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.73.

Unum Group Stock Up 0.5 %

UNM stock opened at $75.84 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.76. Unum Group has a 52 week low of $41.97 and a 52 week high of $76.31. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.18%.

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.