Boston Common Asset Management LLC Buys 11,373 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Boston Common Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 19.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,278 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,373 shares during the quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC's holdings in Unum Group were worth $5,059,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Unum Group by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 766 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in 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 valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Unum Group by 3.4% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 38.2% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 702 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in Unum Group by 3.1% during the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 6,592 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 58,865 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.39, for a total value of $4,437,832.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,007,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $75,917,956.17. The trade was a 5.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,361 shares of the company's stock, valued at $581,591.16. This represents a 15.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 107,914 shares of company stock worth $7,998,745 over the last three months. 0.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on UNM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $79.00 price target (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Unum Group in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group raised shares of Unum Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Unum Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.45.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of UNM traded up $0.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $75.02. The company had a trading volume of 911,396 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,149,464. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $45.23 and a 1-year high of $77.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. The company has a market capitalization of $13.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.81. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $73.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.81.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.54 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

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.