Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Has $2.01 Million Stock Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 499.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 44,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 36,984 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $2,007,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of UNM. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Unum Group during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Bangor Savings Bank increased its position in Unum Group by 100.0% during the third quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in Unum Group during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new position in Unum Group during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Unum Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Unum Group from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Unum Group from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Unum Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unum Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Steven Andrew Zabel sold 10,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.06, for a total transaction of $510,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 122,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,241,880.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.15, for a total transaction of $2,457,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,076,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,922,409.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Steven Andrew Zabel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.06, for a total transaction of $510,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 122,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,241,880.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 81,000 shares of company stock worth $4,018,100 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Trading Up 0.3 %

UNM opened at $51.97 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $51.17 and its 200-day moving average is $47.63. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $40.04 and a 1-year high of $54.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $9.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.01, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.87.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by ($0.07). Unum Group had a net margin of 10.36% and a return on equity of 16.03%. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a dividend of $0.365 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.50%.

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.