Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Reduces Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. cut its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 5.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,506 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $621,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 64,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $968,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760 shares during the period. ING Groep NV boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 555.0% during the 1st quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 92,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,391,000 after purchasing an additional 78,526 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 556,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,349,000 after purchasing an additional 13,073 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 39.2% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 232,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,569,000 after purchasing an additional 65,563 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 425,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,392,000 after purchasing an additional 28,953 shares during the period. 93.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $41.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Credit Suisse Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. SunTrust Banks lowered their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $44.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. ValuEngine cut shares of Unum Group from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $18.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.38.

Shares of UNM opened at $14.71 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $15.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.68. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $9.58 and a fifty-two week high of $35.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a PE ratio of 3.12, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.18.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.38 by ($0.03). Unum Group had a return on equity of 11.68% and a net margin of 8.25%. The business had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. Unum Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 5.43 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 27th were given a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 24th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.75%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is presently 20.99%.

Unum Group Profile

Unum Group, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial protection benefit solutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through Unum US, Unum UK, Colonial Life, and Closed Block segments. 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.

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