Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Shares Purchased by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 42.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,063 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,727 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Unum Group were worth $1,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UNM. Norges Bank bought a new position in Unum Group during the fourth quarter worth $1,003,918,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,497,586 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,496,939,000 after purchasing an additional 1,596,078 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 4th quarter worth about $113,962,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 4th quarter worth about $105,199,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,096,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on UNM shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Unum Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Unum Group from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $108.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Unum Group from $103.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Unum Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 10,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $800,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 51,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,093,600. The trade was a 16.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Unum Group Stock Up 0.6%

Unum Group stock opened at $78.31 on Friday. Unum Group has a 52 week low of $49.16 and a 52 week high of $84.48. The stock has a market cap of $13.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.22, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.43. The company's 50-day moving average price is $79.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.19 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.34 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 12.31%. Unum Group's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 25th. Unum Group's payout ratio is currently 19.79%.

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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