Jump Financial LLC Purchases New Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 22,025 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,608,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of UNM. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,342 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,554,000 after buying an additional 156,380 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Unum Group by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 16,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,205,000 after acquiring an additional 5,047 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in Unum Group during the 4th quarter valued at $8,816,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Unum Group by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,552,252 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $405,481,000 after acquiring an additional 51,744 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC increased its position in shares of Unum Group by 362.9% in the 4th quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 19,461 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,421,000 after purchasing an additional 15,257 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Raymond James upgraded Unum Group from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $108.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Unum Group from $97.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Unum Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Unum Group from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Unum Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

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

Unum Group Price Performance

UNM stock traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $78.55. 283,470 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,534,035. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.83. Unum Group has a one year low of $48.38 and a one year high of $84.48. The company has a market cap of $13.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.46.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share (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%. Equities analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. Unum Group's payout ratio is presently 17.74%.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 18th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Company Profile

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.