Puneet Bhasin Sells 14,609 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Stock

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM – Get Rating) EVP Puneet Bhasin sold 14,609 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.47, for a total value of $678,880.23. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 62,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,904,653.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Unum Group Price Performance

UNM opened at $45.58 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.98 billion, a PE ratio of 6.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $41.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.53. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $31.11 and a 1 year high of $46.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.22. Unum Group had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 14.67%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.36 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Unum Group will post 7.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 28th were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 27th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is 18.70%.

Institutional Trading of Unum Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 4.0% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 61,304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,932,000 after buying an additional 2,370 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 33.2% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 15,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $480,000 after acquiring an additional 3,799 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the first quarter worth approximately $348,000. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 61.5% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 76,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 29,166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new position in Unum Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Institutional investors own 79.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on UNM shares. Citigroup upgraded Unum Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $49.00 to $53.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Unum Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $44.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Monday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd. StockNews.com began coverage on Unum Group in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Unum Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $49.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.00.

Unum Group Company Profile

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Unum Group engages in the provision of financial protection benefits. Its services include disability, life, accident, critical illness, dental, vision, and other related services. It operates through the following segments: Unum US, Unum International, Colonial Life, Closed Block, and Corporate. The Unum US segment focuses on group disability, group life and accidental death and dismemberment products, and supplemental and voluntary lines of business.