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

Patten & Patten Inc. TN cut its stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Patten & Patten Inc. TN’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $974,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UNM. Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 26.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 28.8% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the 4th quarter worth about $58,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 target price (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James upgraded Unum Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Five 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unum Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.62.

Unum Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNM opened at $78.99 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business’s 50 day moving average is $76.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.55. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $48.38 and a 12-month high of $83.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.34, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its 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%. Research analysts expect that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

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

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 18th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

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

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.