Ritholtz Wealth Management Sells 6,013 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Ritholtz Wealth Management trimmed its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 11.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 44,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,013 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $2,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 23,681,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $746,204,000 after acquiring an additional 836,407 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,585,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $619,086,000 after acquiring an additional 236,136 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Unum Group during the 4th quarter worth $426,463,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,106,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $241,749,000 after acquiring an additional 166,022 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,293,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $135,279,000 after acquiring an additional 288,209 shares during the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Unum Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Unum Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Unum Group news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,772,500. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.15, for a total transaction of $2,457,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,076,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,922,409.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $250,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,772,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 81,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,018,100 over the last quarter. 0.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of UNM stock traded down $0.04 during trading on Thursday, hitting $53.66. The company had a trading volume of 1,235,367 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,486,249. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $49.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.86. Unum Group has a 52 week low of $38.34 and a 52 week high of $53.97.

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

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 26th were paid a $0.365 dividend. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 25th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.