Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Shares Sold by Clarius Group LLC

Clarius Group LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 47.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,041 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,705 shares during the quarter. Clarius Group LLC's holdings in Unum Group were worth $329,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group during the 4th quarter valued at $1,003,918,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 8.4% in 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 buying an additional 1,596,078 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter worth about $113,962,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $105,199,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,096,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company's stock.

Unum Group Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Unum Group stock opened at $78.31 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $79.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.13. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $49.16 and a fifty-two week high of $84.48. The firm has a market cap of $13.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 10,000 shares of the business's 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 $4,093,600. This represents a 16.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on UNM. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Unum Group from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $108.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $76.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Unum Group from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.29.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.