Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Makes New Investment in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 9,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $675,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Unum Group by 26.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 28.8% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 3.4% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 6,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 35,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,568,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays increased their target price on Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 target price (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Unum Group in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $91.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $81.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Unum Group news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.92, for a total transaction of $769,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,827 shares in the company, valued at $4,217,292.84. This represents a 15.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Unum Group stock opened at $74.99 on Thursday. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $48.38 and a fifty-two week 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 stock has a market cap of $13.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $74.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.55.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its earnings results 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Unum Group will post 9.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given 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 2.24%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 17.74%.

Unum Group announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.