O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Sells 1,373 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 118,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,373 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC owned about 0.07% of Unum Group worth $8,676,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 26.4% in the 4th 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. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $974,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Unum Group by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 35,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,568,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 36,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,635,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Raymond James raised shares of Unum Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 target price (up from $74.00) on shares of Unum Group in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.62.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In other news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 980,637 shares in the company, valued at $80,402,427.63. The trade was a 4.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the company’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 in the company, valued at $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.

Unum Group Trading Up 1.9 %

UNM stock opened at $81.53 on Tuesday. 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 $84.48. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.63. The company has a market capitalization of $14.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.61, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74.

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

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $0.42 dividend. 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 2.06%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.74%.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors 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.