Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Purchases 3,131 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 49.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,131 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $693,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,500,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $326,950,000 after buying an additional 55,014 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Unum Group by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,554,000 after purchasing an additional 156,380 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Unum Group by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 16,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 5,047 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Unum Group by 89.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 111,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,647,000 after purchasing an additional 52,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Unum Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,074,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNM opened at $79.05 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $13.97 billion, a PE ratio of 8.35, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $75.59 and a 200 day moving average of $68.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.29. Unum Group has a one year low of $48.38 and a one year high of $83.96.

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

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.74%.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 18th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on UNM. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Unum Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 price target (up from $74.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Unum Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Unum Group news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total transaction of $579,250.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total transaction of $4,099,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 980,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,402,427.63. The trade was 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 corporate insiders.

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.