Portland Global Advisors LLC Sells 2,278 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Portland Global Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 32.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,278 shares during the period. Portland Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $345,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 156,380 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 16,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 5,047 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,074,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in Unum Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,816,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Unum Group by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,552,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $405,481,000 after buying an additional 51,744 shares in the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Unum Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNM opened at $79.95 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.32. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $48.38 and a 12-month high of $84.48. The firm has a market cap of $14.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.44, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) 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, equities analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

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

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on UNM. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. 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 research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Unum Group from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.62.

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.