Cetera Investment Advisers Raises Stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,105 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Unum Group were worth $2,700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Unum Group by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,497,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,496,939,000 after acquiring an additional 1,596,078 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Unum Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,003,918,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Unum Group by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,552,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $405,481,000 after acquiring an additional 51,744 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Unum Group by 33.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,930,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $140,973,000 after acquiring an additional 480,926 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Unum Group by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,708,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $124,768,000 after acquiring an additional 227,644 shares during the period. 86.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Unum Group news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total transaction of $579,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,588,751. This represents a 18.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $800,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,093,600. This represents a 16.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 67,000 shares of company stock valued at $5,478,750 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on UNM shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $75.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Unum Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.50.

Unum Group Stock Up 1.6%

UNM opened at $82.07 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $78.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.78. Unum Group has a twelve month low of $48.38 and a twelve month high of $84.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.67, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.38.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.19 by ($0.15). Unum Group had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The company had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 19.79%.

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.