Bank of New York Mellon Corp Decreases Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp decreased its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,891,891 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 79,966 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 1.04% of Unum Group worth $138,165,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Callan Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Callan Capital LLC now owns 9,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $662,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 44.9% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,264,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $92,383,000 after acquiring an additional 392,191 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,927 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 20,016 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,462,000 after acquiring an additional 3,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Convergence Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 17,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,295,000 after acquiring an additional 1,661 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on UNM shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $81.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Unum Group in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $91.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Unum Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.92.

Unum Group Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of UNM opened at $82.27 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $74.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $15.02 billion, a PE ratio of 8.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.80. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $48.38 and a fifty-two week high of $83.96.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by ($0.11). Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 13.81%. As a group, analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 17.74%.

Unum Group announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 18th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.