5,346 Shares in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Purchased by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Wedbush Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 5,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $390,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UNM. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 8.4% during the fourth 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 acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group during the 4th quarter valued at $1,003,918,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 0.9% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 51,744 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,462,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $106,837,000 after buying an additional 276,655 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in Unum Group by 44.9% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,264,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,383,000 after buying an additional 392,191 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Unum Group news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,588,751. This represents a 18.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 980,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,402,427.63. This represents a 4.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNM opened at $70.14 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.40 billion, a PE ratio of 7.41, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.46. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $77.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.45. Unum Group has a 52 week low of $48.38 and a 52 week high of $84.48.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 14.91%. Research analysts expect that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback 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 repurchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 17.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on UNM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Unum Group from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $81.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays upped their target price on Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Unum Group from $75.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.86.

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.