Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Invests $646,000 in Unum Group $UNM

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. has acquired 7,929 shares of Unum Group, valued at approximately $646,000, indicating increased institutional interest in the company.
• Unum Group recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.46 from $0.42, representing a 2.7% yield, showcasing confidence in its financial performance.
• The company's latest earnings report revealed a miss on EPS estimates, reporting $2.07 compared to expectations of $2.23, even as revenue increased by 4.0% year-over-year.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,929 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $646,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 4.0% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,558 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $290,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 18,211 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,330,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 7.3% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,757 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 1.4% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 14,209 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,158,000 after buying an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sculati Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,901 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,841,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Unum Group from $85.00 to $79.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday. UBS Group set a $87.00 price target on Unum Group and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Unum Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Unum Group from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Unum Group from $100.00 to $96.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $91.15.

Unum Group Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Unum Group stock traded up $0.4070 on Friday, hitting $69.7470. 492,944 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,423,631. Unum Group has a one year low of $52.71 and a one year high of $84.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The company has a fifty day moving average of $76.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.91. The company has a market capitalization of $11.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.40.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.23 by ($0.16). Unum Group had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 13.44%. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.16 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Unum Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.500-8.50 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 25th were issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 25th. This is an increase from Unum Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.01%.

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.