Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC Takes $1.58 Million Position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 216,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,584,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC owned about 0.12% of Unum Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,536 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $478,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Unum Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $974,000 after purchasing an additional 189 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 in the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unum Group Stock Up 0.2%

UNM opened at $80.39 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $78.40 and a 200-day moving average of $75.23. The company has a market capitalization of $14.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.38. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $48.38 and a fifty-two week high of $84.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.29.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) 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). 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 firm’s revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,588,751. This represents a 18.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 980,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,402,427.63. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Unum Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Unum Group from $75.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Raymond James raised shares of Unum Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Unum Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.50.

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.