Kendall Capital Management Sells 1,105 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Kendall Capital Management decreased its stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 42,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,105 shares during the quarter. Kendall Capital Management’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $3,106,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barrett & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Unum Group by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Unum Group during the third quarter worth $31,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Unum Group during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 4,794.7% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 911 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 26.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on UNM. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $81.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of Unum Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays increased their price target 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. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.62.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNM stock opened at $79.05 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.35, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.29. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.52. Unum Group has a 52 week low of $48.38 and a 52 week high of $83.96.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.14 by ($0.11). Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 13.81%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.74%.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 18th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total value of $4,099,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 980,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,402,427.63. The trade was a 4.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total transaction of $579,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,588,751. The trade was a 18.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group 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.