Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Shares Bought by Duality Advisers LP

Duality Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 50.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,184 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $1,509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Unum Group by 1.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,585,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $619,086,000 after buying an additional 236,136 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Unum Group by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,545,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,416,000 after purchasing an additional 313,482 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its position in Unum Group by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,856,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $140,530,000 after purchasing an additional 71,561 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 79.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,952,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,616,000 after purchasing an additional 866,531 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 16.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,715,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,393,000 after buying an additional 236,261 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $250,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,450 shares in the company, valued at $2,772,500. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,772,500. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,076,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,922,409.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 81,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,018,100 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Unum Group from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Unum Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.38.

Unum Group Price Performance

NYSE UNM opened at $51.79 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.59. Unum Group has a 52-week low of $40.04 and a 52-week high of $54.57.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.86 by ($0.07). Unum Group had a return on equity of 16.03% and a net margin of 10.36%. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. Unum Group’s revenue 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a $0.365 dividend. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.50%.

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.