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

BTC Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 20.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 68,437 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 11,416 shares during the quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Unum Group were worth $5,578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 396 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Unum Group during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Unum Group in the 4th quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in Unum Group by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 958 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group set a $89.00 target price on shares of Unum Group and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Unum Group from $103.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $88.29.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

In related news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,093,600. The trade was a 16.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNM traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $81.90. 878,107 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,314,872. 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 market cap of $14.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.65, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.38. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $78.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.72. Unum Group has a twelve month low of $48.38 and a twelve month high of $84.48.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 13.81%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.79%.

Unum Group declared that its board has approved a share 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 repurchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.