Aviance Capital Partners LLC Raises Stock Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 10.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,870 shares during the quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $3,020,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 shares of Unum Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of 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. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in Unum Group by 28.8% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on UNM. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 price target (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Unum Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Unum Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Unum Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.62.

Unum Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNM opened at $79.49 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $48.38 and a fifty-two week high of $83.96. The stock has a market cap of $14.52 billion, a PE ratio of 8.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.35.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by ($0.11). Unum Group had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 14.91%. Analysts expect that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 17.74%.

Unum Group declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, February 18th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total value of $4,099,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 980,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,402,427.63. This represents a 4.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total transaction of $579,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,588,751. This trade represents a 18.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.