Patten & Patten Inc. TN Grows Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Patten & Patten Inc. TN boosted its holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 16.3% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 14,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,996 shares during the quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $762,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UNM. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in Unum Group in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the first quarter valued at $35,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 93.8% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Unum Group stock traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $53.86. The stock had a trading volume of 1,383,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,266,508. The company has a 50-day moving average of $51.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market cap of $10.20 billion, a PE ratio of 8.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.81. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $41.75 and a fifty-two week high of $54.66.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.15. Unum Group had a return on equity of 16.02% and a net margin of 10.52%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.87 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 26th. This is a positive change from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is 21.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on UNM. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Unum Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler started coverage on Unum Group in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Unum Group from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy F. Keaney sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.61, for a total transaction of $420,880.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 37,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,973,138.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Unum Group news, Director Timothy F. Keaney sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.61, for a total value of $420,880.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 37,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,973,138.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.47, for a total value of $236,115.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 56,262 shares in the company, valued at $2,952,067.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.