Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. Makes New $339,000 Investment in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 7,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $339,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Bangor Savings Bank raised its stake in shares of Unum Group by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Unum Group news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,772,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Unum Group news, CFO Steven Andrew Zabel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.06, for a total value of $510,600.00. Following the completion of 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 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 dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 81,000 shares of company stock worth $4,018,100 in the last quarter. 0.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Unum Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNM traded up $0.57 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $51.36. The stock had a trading volume of 1,256,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,425,880. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $40.04 and a 1-year high of $54.57. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.59. 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 $9.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.91, a PEG ratio of 1.00 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by ($0.07). Unum Group had a net margin of 10.36% and a return on equity of 16.03%. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.19 EPS 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. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a dividend of $0.365 per share. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

About Unum Group

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.