Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.37

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, April 12th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a dividend of 0.365 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%.

Unum Group has increased its dividend payment by an average of 6.8% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 15 consecutive years. Unum Group has a payout ratio of 16.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Unum Group to earn $8.79 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.46 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 16.6%.

Unum Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNM traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $50.31. 1,464,638 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,451,898. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.75, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.87. Unum Group has a 52-week low of $39.40 and a 52-week high of $54.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company's 50 day moving average price is $50.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.55.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.86 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.14 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 16.03% and a net margin of 10.36%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In related news, CFO Steven Andrew Zabel sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.06, for a total value of $510,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 122,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,241,880.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Unum Group news, CFO Steven Andrew Zabel sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.06, for a total transaction of $510,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 122,246 shares in the company, valued at $6,241,880.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,772,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 81,000 shares of company stock worth $4,018,100 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.94% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unum Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $611,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 100,475 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,544,000 after buying an additional 7,318 shares during the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 8,128 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 1,017 shares during the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $656,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,170,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Unum Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unum Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.50.

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.