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

BTC Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 25.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Unum Group by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 36,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,847,000 after buying an additional 3,143 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group during the second quarter worth about $1,141,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Unum Group during the second quarter worth about $133,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in Unum Group by 183.5% in the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 170,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,694,000 after purchasing an additional 110,100 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Unum Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $513,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on UNM shares. Bank of America increased their target price on Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial boosted 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. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $67.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 target price (up from $74.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Unum Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $76.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Unum Group news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.92, for a total value of $769,200.00. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.56, for a total transaction of $104,340.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $581,591.16. This represents a 15.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 102,914 shares of company stock valued at $7,677,945. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:UNM opened at $77.07 on Friday. 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 has a market capitalization of $14.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.81. Unum Group has a 52-week low of $46.39 and a 52-week high of $77.69. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.36.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 15.21%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.18%.

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.