D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Has $5.17 Million Stock Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. decreased its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 84.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,739 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 397,627 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Unum Group were worth $5,166,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of UNM. Brookstone Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group during the fourth quarter worth $251,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in Unum Group by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 800 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Unum Group by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 34,177 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,496,000 after buying an additional 637 shares in the last quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC increased its position in Unum Group by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 69,278 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,059,000 after purchasing an additional 11,373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the 4th quarter worth about $328,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company's stock.

Unum Group Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of UNM stock traded down $0.17 on Tuesday, hitting $81.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 688,522 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,312,780. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $78.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.99. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $48.38 and a fifty-two week high of $84.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.79%.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Unum Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $103.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $75.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $76.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.43.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

In other news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 980,637 shares of the company's stock, valued at $80,402,427.63. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,588,751. The trade was a 18.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 67,000 shares of company stock valued at $5,478,750. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Unum Group 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.