Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY Purchases Shares of 40,000 Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 40,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,809,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 100.0% in the third quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 664 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven Andrew Zabel sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $6,241,880.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Steven Andrew Zabel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,241,880.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $250,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,772,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 81,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,018,100. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Unum Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Unum Group from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Unum Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.25.

Unum Group Stock Down 1.0 %

Unum Group stock traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $51.09. The stock had a trading volume of 1,287,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,444,384. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $9.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.87. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $39.05 and a 12 month high of $54.57. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $50.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.51.

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

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 26th were issued a dividend of $0.365 per share. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 25th. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.50%.

Unum Group Company 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.