State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Cuts Stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 13.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 56,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,074 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $3,377,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 361.5% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Unum Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Unum Group in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Unum Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. 86.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unum Group Price Performance

Unum Group stock opened at $71.30 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market cap of $13.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $60.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.51. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $41.86 and a 1 year high of $71.42.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. Unum Group’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, July 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Unum Group from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup increased their target price on Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.09.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total transaction of $3,727,369.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.56, for a total transaction of $104,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,361 shares in the company, valued at $581,591.16. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total transaction of $3,727,369.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at $58,601,422.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 77,545 shares of company stock worth $4,380,074 over the last three months. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.