Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Has $124.76 Million Stock Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lowered its stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 43.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,708,327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,293,818 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned 0.94% of Unum Group worth $124,759,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in Unum Group by 48.9% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 13,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $990,000 after acquiring an additional 4,450 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 25,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,846,000 after purchasing an additional 896 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,533,000. Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in Unum Group by 41.5% in the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 5,272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $385,000 after buying an additional 1,546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Unum Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,003,918,000. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,588,751. The trade was a 18.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 owns 980,637 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 target price (up from $74.00) on shares of Unum Group in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Unum Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.62.

Unum Group Trading Down 2.4 %

UNM opened at $79.95 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $77.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.32. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $48.38 and a 1-year high of $84.48. The company has a market cap of $14.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by ($0.11). Unum Group had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 14.91%. Analysts predict that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Unum Group’s payout ratio is currently 17.74%.

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.