Alyeska Investment Group L.P. Buys Shares of 815,568 Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 815,568 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $59,561,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. owned approximately 0.45% of Unum Group as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,003,918,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Unum Group by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,497,586 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,496,939,000 after buying an additional 1,596,078 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in Unum Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,096,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Unum Group by 33.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,930,349 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $140,973,000 after acquiring an additional 480,926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in Unum Group by 44.9% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,264,994 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $92,383,000 after acquiring an additional 392,191 shares during the period. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Unum Group Stock Up 2.9 %

UNM stock opened at $79.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.29. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $48.38 and a fifty-two week high of $84.48. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $78.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.58. The company has a market cap of $14.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.38.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.34 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 13.81%. Unum Group's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.79%.

Unum Group declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on UNM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on Unum Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Unum Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Unum Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.50.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction 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 $2,588,751. The trade was a 18.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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. This represents a 4.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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