Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Shares Sold by Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc.

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $416,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 1,002.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 53,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,890,000 after purchasing an additional 48,437 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Unum Group by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 16,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,205,000 after buying an additional 5,047 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $216,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Unum Group by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 5,868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $429,000 after acquiring an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 4th quarter valued at $218,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Unum Group in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $91.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group upgraded Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.75.

Unum Group Stock Performance

UNM opened at $75.21 on Tuesday. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $46.39 and a 1-year high of $77.63. The stock has a market cap of $13.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of Unum Group 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. The trade was a 15.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.56, for a total transaction of $104,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $581,591.16. This represents a 15.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 107,914 shares of company stock valued at $7,998,745. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

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.