Unum Group (UNM) Stake Lowered by PGGM Investments

PGGM Investments reduced its stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 1.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 152,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,852 shares during the period. PGGM Investments owned 0.07% of Unum Group worth $7,089,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC raised its stake in Unum Group by 0.3% in the first quarter. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC now owns 10,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $494,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Bronfman E.L. Rothschild L.P. raised its stake in Unum Group by 1.2% in the first quarter. Bronfman E.L. Rothschild L.P. now owns 2,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in Unum Group by 0.7% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 14,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $662,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Hugh Johnson Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Unum Group by 0.3% in the first quarter. Hugh Johnson Advisors LLC now owns 50,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,360,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Unum Group by 3.2% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $205,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. 92.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Shares of Unum Group (UNM) traded up 0.10% during midday trading on Friday, reaching $48.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 665,202 shares. Unum Group has a 52-week low of $33.85 and a 52-week high of $51.43. The stock has a market cap of $10.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $48.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.17.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.04. Unum Group had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 10.23%. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post $4.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 25th that authorizes the company to buyback $750.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 31st will be issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. This is a positive change from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 27th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.17%.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on UNM. Barclays PLC lifted their price target on Unum Group from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 11th. Zacks Investment Research lowered Unum Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BidaskClub downgraded Unum Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “hold” rating on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Sunday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “hold” rating on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.78.

In other news, EVP Breege A. Farrell sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.47, for a total transaction of $682,050.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Pamela H. Godwin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.71, for a total transaction of $126,775.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 19,960 shares of company stock worth $932,391. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Company Profile

Unum Group is a provider of financial protection benefits in the United States and the United Kingdom. The Company’s products include disability, life, accident, critical illness, dental and vision, and other related services. Its segments include Unum US, Unum UK, Colonial Life, Closed Block and Corporate.