Savant Capital LLC Grows Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Savant Capital LLC raised its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 46,344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 476 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $3,385,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Forbes J M & Co. LLP purchased a new position in Unum Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $389,000. Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 34,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,491,000 after purchasing an additional 7,944 shares in the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,930,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $531,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.92, for a total transaction of $769,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,827 shares in the company, valued at $4,217,292.84. This trade represents a 15.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hanley Ronald P. O sold 14,299 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.10, for a total value of $1,030,957.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 38,819 shares in the company, valued at $2,798,849.90. This trade represents a 26.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 98,164 shares of company stock worth $7,346,040. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on UNM. Evercore ISI raised shares of Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Unum Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Unum Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.45.

Unum Group Stock Down 1.7 %

NYSE UNM opened at $75.24 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $13.74 billion, a PE ratio of 7.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.80. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $47.65 and a fifty-two week high of $79.43. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $74.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by ($0.11). Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 13.81%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Unum Group will post 9.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.74%.

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.