Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Increases Stock Holdings in Unum Group $UNM

Key Points

• Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its stake in Unum Group by 546%, acquiring an additional 15,834 shares, valued at approximately $1.52 million.
• Unum Group recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, raising its annual yield to 2.7%, up from the previous $0.42.
• The company reported $2.07 EPS for the last quarter, missing analysts' expectations of $2.23, but showed a 4% revenue increase year-over-year.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 546.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 18,734 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 15,834 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.'s holdings in Unum Group were worth $1,524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Unum Group during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 196.9% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 478 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 1,289.7% in the first quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 806 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 748 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on UNM shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $95.00 target price (down from $100.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group set a $87.00 price objective on Unum Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Unum Group from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $85.00 to $79.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $91.15.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Unum Group stock traded up $0.5350 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $69.8750. The stock had a trading volume of 930,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,748,224. The firm's fifty day moving average is $76.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.88. The company has a market capitalization of $11.90 billion, a PE ratio of 8.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.40. Unum Group has a 52-week low of $52.71 and a 52-week high of $84.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick 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 data on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 13.44%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. Unum Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.500-8.50 EPS. On average, 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 25th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 25th. This is a positive change from Unum Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. 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.