First Horizon Advisors Inc. Has $6.05 Million Stock Holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 82,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,834 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $6,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Barrett & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Unum Group by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Unum Group during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Unum Group by 4,794.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 911 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In related news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.92, for a total transaction of $769,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 54,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,217,292.84. The trade was a 15.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on UNM. Evercore ISI upgraded Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $67.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $91.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 price target (up from $74.00) on shares of Unum Group in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Unum Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.17.

Unum Group Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of UNM stock opened at $74.07 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.95. Unum Group has a twelve month low of $48.38 and a twelve month high of $79.43. 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 capitalization of $13.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.82, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.80.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.14 by ($0.11). Unum Group had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 14.91%. As a group, research analysts predict that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

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

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is 17.74%.

About Unum Group

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.