Grace & White Inc. NY Has $23.54 Million Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Grace & White Inc. NY lowered its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 520,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,300 shares during the quarter. Unum Group comprises approximately 4.1% of Grace & White Inc. NY’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Grace & White Inc. NY’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $23,535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Unum Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $139,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in Unum Group by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 866,481 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,182,000 after purchasing an additional 122,944 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc. grew its position in shares of Unum Group by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 112,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,082,000 after acquiring an additional 2,586 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP grew its position in shares of Unum Group by 50.4% during the 4th quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 33,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,509,000 after acquiring an additional 11,184 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 33,607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,520,000 after buying an additional 4,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on UNM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Unum Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Unum Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.38.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

In other news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,772,500. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Steven Andrew Zabel sold 10,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 122,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,241,880.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 81,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,018,100. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of Unum Group stock traded down $0.02 during trading hours 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $51.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.61. Unum Group has a one year low of $40.04 and a one year high of $54.57. 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 cap of $9.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.87.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by ($0.07). The business 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.18 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a $0.365 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is presently 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.