Picton Mahoney Asset Management Purchases Shares of 120,733 Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 120,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,816,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management owned approximately 0.07% of Unum Group as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barrett & Company Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 4,794.7% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 911 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 26.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group during the third quarter worth about $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the business’s 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 directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the business’s 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 $2,588,751. This trade represents a 18.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on UNM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 price target (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Unum Group in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com lowered Unum Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $81.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Raymond James raised Unum Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five research 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.62.

Unum Group Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of Unum Group stock opened at $78.99 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. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $48.38 and a 1 year high of $83.96. The company has a market capitalization of $13.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $75.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.18.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.74%.

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.