BTC Capital Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

BTC Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 25.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 57,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 19,576 shares during the period. BTC Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $4,164,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Unum Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,500,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $326,950,000 after purchasing an additional 55,014 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Unum Group by 5.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,186,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,511,000 after purchasing an additional 66,392 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 151.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 509,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,297,000 after acquiring an additional 307,175 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,554,000 after purchasing an additional 156,380 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Unum Group by 24.5% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 325,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,365,000 after buying an additional 64,062 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on UNM shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Unum Group from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 3,250 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $227,565.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 50,762 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,554,355.24. The trade was a 6.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.92, for a total value of $769,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,217,292.84. This trade represents a 15.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 102,914 shares of company stock worth $7,677,945. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Unum Group Price Performance

Unum Group stock opened at $77.07 on Friday. Unum Group has a 52-week low of $46.39 and a 52-week high of $77.69. The firm has a market cap of $14.07 billion, a PE ratio of 8.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company’s 50 day moving average is $74.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.36.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

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.