New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 103,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,533,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC owned about 0.06% of Unum Group as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in UNM. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Unum Group in the fourth quarter worth $1,003,918,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,497,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,496,939,000 after buying an additional 1,596,078 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 44.9% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,264,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,383,000 after acquiring an additional 392,191 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 151.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 509,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,297,000 after acquiring an additional 307,175 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Unum Group by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,462,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $106,837,000 after acquiring an additional 276,655 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In related news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 980,637 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total transaction of $579,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,588,751. This 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $81.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays raised their target price on Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Unum Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Five 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 data from MarketBeat, Unum Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.62.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of Unum Group stock opened at $81.87 on Friday. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $48.38 and a 12 month high of $84.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.02.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business 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 2.05%. Unum Group’s 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.