First Trust Advisors LP, a financial services provider, has recently disclosed that it reduced its stake in Unum Group’s shares by 11.2% in the fourth quarter of this year. The firm sold 120,491 shares and is currently left with 951,792 shares. The value of their remaining shares is $39,062,000 as per their most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC). This development can impact the company’s investment portfolio, causing concern among investors.
Unum Group announced that it will pay its shareholders a quarterly dividend on Friday, May 19th – this payout amounts to $0.33 per share. Those who hold stocks on April 28th will receive this payment. It is noteworthy that Unum Group’s annualized dividend amounts to $1.32 per share and yields at around about 2.84%. It may be perplexing as to why some divestment on behalf of some investors has occurred after such a lucrative announcement.
A gradual decline in investment might have something to do with executive vice president Lisa G. Iglesias selling off her shares worth a total value of $674,o39.44 on March 2nd at an average price of $45.02 per stock unit; she now holds around roughly six figures-worth holdings in Unum group stocks. Furthermore, CAO Walter Lynn Rice Jr., another company executive, sold off 2,800 stocks on May 8th at an average price of $44.71 for $125,o88 in total revenue for himself.
It seems pertinent that insider trading may be detected here after all: company officials continuing selling such high volumes of stocks could negatively affect investor confidence despite the firm’s dividend decision last month represented a positive outcome for shareholder wealth distribution. As such we must wait and see whether these decisions leave an impact on any future quarterly reports or investment portfolios ahead especially considering insiders continue to sell their shares.
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Unum Group Hedge Fund Holdings Increase as Analysts Weigh In on Future Prospects
Unum Group Hedge Fund Holdings Increase While Analysts Weigh In
Several hedge funds and institutional investors have recently raised their holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM), a financial services provider. Venture Visionary Partners LLC increased its stake by 17.6% during the fourth quarter, while Foster & Motley Inc. raised its holdings by 20.3%, MAI Capital Management by 36.7%, TriaGen Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake, and Prudential PLC similarly invested approximately $484,000 in the stock. These moves pushed ownership from hedge funds and other institutional investors to 79.64%.
Brokerages are also discussing Unum Group’s future prospects with Citigroup raising shares of Unum Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating, and upped their target price for the company from $49 to $53 on March 15th; Jefferies Financial Group raised shares from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company on Monday, March 20th; while Morgan Stanley and Barclays upped their target prices as well.
Unum Group is set to pay out a quarterly dividend totaling $0.33 per share, providing an annualized dividend yield of 2.84% to shareholders on May 19th- which has already generated buzz among investors eager for revenue growth within their portfolios.
Shares opened at $46.42 today boasting a market cap of $9.15 billion USD but have remained relatively flat throughout the day due to recent value fluctuations of various assets across major investors worldwide.
The firm released positive Q1 earnings results earlier this month reporting earnings per share (EPS) of $1.87 for the quarter versus consensus estimates of $1.65 EPS with equity returns at approximately 14% return over capital investments made.
Furthermore, given that the average target price of Unum Group stocks has been estimated at $47.00 (according to data from Bloomberg) it is predicted that the company will continue to provide solid returns for investors over the coming years.
