Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) is D. Scott Neal Inc.'s 3rd Largest Position

D. Scott Neal Inc. decreased its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 280,877 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,596 shares during the period. Unum Group accounts for approximately 11.3% of D. Scott Neal Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. D. Scott Neal Inc. owned 0.15% of Unum Group worth $20,512,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UNM. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Unum Group in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 38.2% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 702 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in Unum Group by 4,794.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 930 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 911 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on UNM. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $79.00 price target (up from $74.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI raised 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 note on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group raised shares of Unum Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays raised 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Unum Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.45.

Unum Group Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of UNM traded up $1.06 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $74.39. The stock had a trading volume of 930,098 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,214,760. The company has a market cap of $13.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.05, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.81. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $73.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.64. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $44.83 and a 1-year high of $77.63. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.26 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. Unum Group's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.16, for a total transaction of $320,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 58,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,768,822.56. The trade was a 7.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.56, for a total value of $104,340.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,361 shares in the company, valued at $581,591.16. This represents a 15.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 107,914 shares of company stock worth $7,998,745 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Unum Group 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.