Capital Fund Management S.A. Makes New Investment in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Capital Fund Management S.A. bought a new stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 15,788 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,153,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Barrett & Company Inc. grew its position in Unum Group by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 396 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised 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 valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in shares of Unum Group by 28.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company's stock.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of UNM stock traded down $0.88 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $74.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 130,482 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,294,112. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $48.38 and a fifty-two week high of $84.48. The company has a market capitalization of $13.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.94, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.46. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $77.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.55.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.14 by ($0.11). Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 13.81%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.74%.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total value of $579,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,588,751. This represents a 18.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total value of $4,099,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 980,637 shares in the company, valued at $80,402,427.63. This represents a 4.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Unum Group from $103.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Unum Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Unum Group from $97.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $88.36.

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.