Unum Group $UNM Stock Sold by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 7.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 313,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 25,272 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $27,524,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GWN Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the second quarter worth about $708,000. Amundi raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 1,140.5% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 340,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,436,000 after buying an additional 312,999 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $84,097,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,482,000. Finally, AXQ Capital LP lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 266.3% during the second quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 27,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,496,000 after buying an additional 20,300 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Unum Group from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Atlantic Securities set a $88.00 price target on Unum Group in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Barclays reduced their price target on Unum Group from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Unum Group in a report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $106.00 price objective on shares of Unum Group in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.42.

Unum Group Price Performance

Unum Group stock opened at $91.21 on Monday. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $69.02 and a 1 year high of $96.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $92.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.95. The company has a market cap of $14.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.26, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.25.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.5050 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is currently 47.09%.

Unum Group announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, August 26th that permits the company to repurchase $1 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Share buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy F. Keaney sold 4,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.02, for a total transaction of $404,286.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 36,502 shares in the company, valued at $3,431,918.04. This represents a 10.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lisa Iglesias sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.44, for a total value of $377,760.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 25,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,403,781.32. The trade was a 13.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 10,488 shares of company stock valued at $988,396 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Profile

Unum Group is an insurance company that provides employee benefits and related protection products through employers, as well as selected individual policies. Its offerings are designed to help people manage the financial impact of illness, injury, death and other unexpected events.

The company’s products include short-term and long-term disability insurance, group and individual life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment coverage, and supplemental health benefits such as accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity insurance.