Prudential Financial Inc. Lowers Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Prudential Financial Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 18.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 166,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 36,780 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.09% of Unum Group worth $12,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 50.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,554,000 after purchasing an additional 156,380 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Unum Group by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 16,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,205,000 after buying an additional 5,047 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 3rd quarter worth $1,074,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the 4th quarter valued at $8,816,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,552,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $405,481,000 after acquiring an additional 51,744 shares during the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNM has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Unum Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Raymond James raised Unum Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 price target (up from $74.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $80,402,427.63. This represents a 4.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,588,751. The trade was 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.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of Unum Group stock opened at $79.95 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $77.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $71.20. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $48.38 and a 12-month high of $84.48. The firm has a market cap of $14.13 billion, a PE ratio of 8.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.74%.

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