NewSquare Capital LLC Acquires 10,021 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 228,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,021 shares during the quarter. Unum Group comprises about 1.0% of NewSquare Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. NewSquare Capital LLC owned about 0.12% of Unum Group worth $10,177,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its position in Unum Group by 583.3% during the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,025,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,420,000 after purchasing an additional 875,000 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Unum Group by 79.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,952,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,616,000 after purchasing an additional 866,531 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in Unum Group by 2,441.3% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 540,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,567,000 after purchasing an additional 518,830 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Unum Group by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,545,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,416,000 after purchasing an additional 313,482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $13,061,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on UNM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Unum Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Unum Group from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Unum Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.38.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNM traded down $0.02 on Tuesday, reaching $51.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 819,232 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,410,785. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $9.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.98, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.61. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $40.04 and a 12-month high of $54.57.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by ($0.07). Unum Group had a return on equity of 16.03% and a net margin of 10.36%. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.43 EPS. Unum Group’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.365 per share. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 22.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Unum Group news, CFO Steven Andrew Zabel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now 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 available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,450 shares in the company, valued at $2,772,500. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Steven Andrew Zabel sold 10,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 122,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,241,880.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 81,000 shares of company stock worth $4,018,100. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

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.