Vise Technologies Inc. Purchases Shares of 6,630 Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 6,630 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $484,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 396 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the fourth quarter valued at $58,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 958 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Unum Group from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Unum Group from $103.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Unum Group from $76.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Unum Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Five research 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, Unum Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.29.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNM traded up $0.75 during trading on Thursday, hitting $81.34. The company had a trading volume of 793,265 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,315,779. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.50. 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 12 month low of $48.38 and a 12 month high of $84.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.38.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 13.81%. The company had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.34 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 25th. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.79%.

Unum Group declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 18th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

In related news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total transaction of $579,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,588,751. This trade represents a 18.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total value of $4,099,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 980,637 shares in the company, valued at $80,402,427.63. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 67,000 shares of company stock valued at $5,478,750 over the last quarter. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.