Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning Has $243,000 Stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning trimmed its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 34.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,348 shares during the period. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $243,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UNM. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,590,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $931,109,000 after purchasing an additional 300,840 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $590,489,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 3,687,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $166,734,000 after purchasing an additional 163,682 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,930,577 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $132,521,000 after purchasing an additional 73,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,017,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $91,225,000 after purchasing an additional 291,757 shares in the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

In related news, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.47, for a total value of $236,115.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,952,067.14. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Timothy F. Keaney sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.61, for a total value of $420,880.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 37,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,973,138.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.47, for a total value of $236,115.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 56,262 shares in the company, valued at $2,952,067.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UNM. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Unum Group from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.56.

Unum Group Stock Down 0.2 %

UNM traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $51.39. 35,454 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,258,679. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.73 billion, a PE ratio of 7.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $51.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.86. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $41.75 and a 1 year high of $54.57.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 16.02%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.87 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.25 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th were paid a dividend of $0.365 per share. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 21.69%.

About Unum Group

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.