Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Stock Position Decreased by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas decreased its stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 196,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,066 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Unum Group were worth $14,333,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,500,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $326,950,000 after acquiring an additional 55,014 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,554,000 after acquiring an additional 156,380 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 16,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,205,000 after acquiring an additional 5,047 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 89.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 111,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,647,000 after acquiring an additional 52,813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,074,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on UNM shares. StockNews.com lowered Unum Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Unum Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. 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 report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, February 19th. Five 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total value of $4,099,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 980,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,402,427.63. The trade was a 4.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total value of $579,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,588,751. The trade was a 18.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Price Performance

Unum Group stock opened at $81.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The company has a market capitalization of $14.41 billion, a PE ratio of 8.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74. Unum Group has a one year low of $48.38 and a one year high of $83.96. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.25.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.14 by ($0.11). Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 13.81%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 17.74%.

Unum Group announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, February 18th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.