7,860 Unum Group $UNM Shares Bought by North Dakota State Investment Board

North Dakota State Investment Board increased its holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 159.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 12,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,860 shares during the quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $1,123,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UNM. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Unum Group by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,084,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $298,287,000 after acquiring an additional 292,670 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the second quarter worth approximately $84,097,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the second quarter worth approximately $58,064,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $55,273,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 14.6% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 754,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,089,000 after purchasing an additional 96,123 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Lisa Iglesias sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.44, for a total transaction of $377,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 25,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,403,781.32. This trade represents a 13.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Lynn Jr sold 2,188 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.31, for a total value of $206,350.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $769,003.74. The trade was a 21.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 10,488 shares of company stock valued at $988,396 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Monday. Wolfe Research lowered their price target on Unum Group from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Unum Group from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $106.00 price objective on shares of Unum Group in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.42.

Unum Group Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of UNM stock opened at $91.21 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $14.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.02, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.25. Unum Group has a 52-week low of $69.02 and a 52-week high of $96.77. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.95.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.16. Unum Group had a net margin of 5.26% and a return on equity of 12.60%. The firm had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.92 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a $0.5050 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 47.09%.

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.