Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Sells 4,444 Shares of Unum Group $UNM

Key Points

• Janney Montgomery Scott LLC has reduced its stake in Unum Group by 7.1%, now holding 58,384 shares valued at approximately $4.7 million after the sale of 4,444 shares.
• A range of hedge funds have increased their positions in Unum Group, with Invesco Ltd. notably raising its stake by 155.6% during the first quarter.
• Unum Group recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.46, yielding 2.4%, which is an increase from the previous dividend of $0.42.

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lessened its stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 58,384 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,444 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in Unum Group were worth $4,715,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UNM. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Unum Group by 155.6% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,278,473 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $185,604,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387,139 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Unum Group during the first quarter worth about $93,287,000. Teewinot Capital Advisers L.L.C. bought a new position in Unum Group during the first quarter worth about $58,881,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Unum Group by 228.6% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,033,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $84,205,000 after purchasing an additional 719,152 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Unum Group by 202.1% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 945,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $77,512,000 after purchasing an additional 632,358 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on UNM. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating and set a $95.00 price target (down previously from $100.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Unum Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unum Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $91.29.

Unum Group Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE UNM opened at $78.23 on Wednesday. The company's fifty day moving average is $72.90 and its 200-day moving average is $77.15. The stock has a market cap of $13.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.36. Unum Group has a twelve month low of $60.39 and a twelve month high of $84.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

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

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 25th were given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 25th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from Unum Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Unum Group's payout ratio is presently 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.

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