Magnetar Financial LLC Takes Position in Unum Group $UNM

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC purchased $549,000 worth of Unum Group shares, acquiring 6,738 shares in the process, indicating institutional interest in the firm.
• Unum Group recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.46 per share, up from $0.42, which represents an annualized dividend of $1.84 and a yield of 2.6%.
• Analyst ratings for Unum Group vary, with price targets set between $87.00 and $96.00, suggesting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 6,738 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $549,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UNM. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 4th quarter worth about $113,962,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 4th quarter worth about $105,199,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 155.6% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 1st quarter worth about $93,287,000. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 4th quarter worth about $59,561,000. 86.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on UNM shares. Barclays set a $96.00 target price on shares of Unum Group and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Unum Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. UBS Group set a $87.00 price objective on Unum Group and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Unum Group from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Unum Group from $100.00 to $96.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $91.15.

Unum Group Trading Up 0.8%

UNM stock traded up $0.58 on Friday, reaching $73.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,680,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,209,642. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.52. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $52.71 and a 12-month high of $84.48. The firm has a market cap of $12.54 billion, a PE ratio of 8.81, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). Unum Group had a return on equity of 13.44% and a net margin of 11.77%.The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. The firm's revenue 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, research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 25th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is an increase from Unum Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 25th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio is 22.01%.

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.