Picton Mahoney Asset Management Boosts Stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Key Points

• Picton Mahoney Asset Management significantly increased its stake in Unum Group by 125.6%, owning approximately 0.15% of the company, valued at $22.19 million after purchasing additional shares.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Unum Group, with Wells Fargo projecting a target of $105.00 and Morgan Stanley setting a target of $85.00, indicating positive sentiment towards the stock.
• Unum Group announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.46 per share, up from $0.42, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 125.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 272,403 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 151,670 shares during the quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management owned approximately 0.15% of Unum Group worth $22,190,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Unum Group by 4.0% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,558 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Unum Group by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,536 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its position in Unum Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 18,211 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,330,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in Unum Group by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,757 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its position in Unum Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 9,151 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on UNM. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Unum Group from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Unum Group from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Unum Group from $103.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays set a $96.00 target price on Unum Group and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Unum Group from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $91.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 51,170 shares in the company, valued at $4,093,600. This trade represents a 16.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Unum Group Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of UNM stock opened at $80.09 on Tuesday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $80.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.53. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $51.80 and a 1-year high of $84.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.96 billion, a PE ratio of 9.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.19 by ($0.15). Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 12.31%. The company had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. Unum Group's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 25th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a positive change from Unum Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 25th. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

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.

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