Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases New Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 57,051 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,166,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Barrett & Company Inc. raised 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 worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted 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 acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $58,000. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 980,637 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $80,402,427.63. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 18.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 67,000 shares of company stock worth $5,478,750. 0.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Unum Group Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of Unum Group stock traded up $1.30 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $82.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,308,830 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,312,686. 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 company has a market capitalization of $14.31 billion, a PE ratio of 8.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.38. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $48.38 and a 12 month high of $84.48. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $78.50 and a 200 day moving average of $75.56.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Unum Group's payout ratio is presently 19.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on UNM shares. StockNews.com lowered Unum Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group increased their target price on Unum Group from $75.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Unum Group from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Unum Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Five 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.50.

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.