South Dakota Investment Council Sells 13,776 Shares of Unum Group $UNM

South Dakota Investment Council lessened its holdings in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 215,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,776 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $17,385,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 155.6% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,278,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $185,604,000 after buying an additional 1,387,139 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Unum Group during the 1st quarter worth $93,287,000. Teewinot Capital Advisers L.L.C. purchased a new position in Unum Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $58,881,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 65.2% in the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 950,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $77,387,000 after acquiring an additional 375,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in Unum Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,601,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on UNM shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Unum Group from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Unum Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective (down previously from $100.00) on shares of Unum Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group set a $87.00 target price on Unum Group and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Unum Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Unum Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.75.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNM opened at $73.41 on Monday. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $63.84 and a 1 year high of $84.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. The company’s fifty day moving average is $74.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.36.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 24th will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 24th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is currently 22.01%.

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.