The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Reduces Stock Position in Unum Group $UNM

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its stake in Unum Group by 19.2%, owning approximately 0.17% of the company after selling 71,165 shares in the first quarter.
• Unum Group recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.42 to $0.46, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.6%.
• Despite reporting a miss on EPS estimates for the last quarter, Unum Group's revenue rose by 4.0% year-over-year, indicating a revenue of $3.36 billion.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 19.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 298,850 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 71,165 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.17% of Unum Group worth $24,344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Unum Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $247,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 79.0% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 207,736 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,171,000 after buying an additional 91,703 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 95.7% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,169 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $524,000 after buying an additional 3,506 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 223,310 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $16,308,000 after buying an additional 11,650 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Unum Group by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 36,967 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,700,000 after purchasing an additional 2,105 shares during the period. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of Unum Group stock traded up $0.58 on Friday, hitting $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 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 has a 1 year low of $52.71 and a 1 year high of $84.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $74.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.54. The company has a market capitalization of $12.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.38.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 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 firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. Unum Group's quarterly 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 25th were paid 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 was Friday, July 25th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNM has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Unum Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. UBS Group set a $87.00 price objective on Unum Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Unum Group from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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, Barclays set a $96.00 price objective on Unum Group and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. One research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $91.15.

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.