Live Oak Investment Partners Buys New Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Live Oak Investment Partners bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $58,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 89.8% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,207,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,728,000 after buying an additional 571,436 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 62.9% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,119,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,237,000 after buying an additional 432,240 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 105.8% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 377,627 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,263,000 after buying an additional 194,125 shares during the period. M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $8,988,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,640,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $227,565.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,554,355.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $227,565.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,762 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,554,355.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.56, for a total value of $104,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $581,591.16. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 77,545 shares of company stock worth $4,380,074. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Unum Group Stock Up 1.5 %

Unum Group stock opened at $71.30 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $41.86 and a 1-year high of $71.42. The company has a market cap of $13.02 billion, a PE ratio of 7.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $60.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.51.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 18.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America raised their target price on Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup raised their target price on Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Barclays raised their target price on Unum Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Unum Group from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.09.

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.