D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Reduces Stake 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 its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm 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 have also bought and sold shares of UNM. Brookstone Capital Management acquired a new position in Unum Group in the 4th quarter valued at $251,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in Unum Group by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 34,177 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,496,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares during the period. Boston Common Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Unum Group by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 69,278 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,059,000 after buying an additional 11,373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Unum Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $328,000. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Unum Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $76.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. 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 research note on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Unum Group from $103.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.43.

Unum Group Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of UNM traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $80.04. 121,692 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,311,829. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.96 billion, a PE ratio of 8.45, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.38. Unum Group has a 52 week low of $48.38 and a 52 week high of $84.48.

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

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 25th. Unum Group's payout ratio is 19.79%.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

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, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 51,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,093,600. This represents a 16.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 67,000 shares of company stock valued at $5,478,750. 0.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.