Virtus Advisers LLC Buys Shares of 6,354 Unum Group $UNM

Key Points

• Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Unum Group, acquiring 6,354 shares valued at approximately $518,000 in the first quarter.
• Unum Group announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46, an increase from the previous $0.42, representing a 2.6% yield and a payout ratio of 22.01%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Unum Group, with a consensus target price of $91.15 and various price objectives ranging from $87.00 to $100.00.

Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 6,354 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $518,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 4.8% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,816,520 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $473,814,000 after buying an additional 264,268 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,387,139 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 33.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,930,349 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $140,973,000 after buying an additional 480,926 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 13.1% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,654,489 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $134,775,000 after buying an additional 191,572 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group during the fourth quarter worth $113,962,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on 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 company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Unum Group from $100.00 to $96.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Unum Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $91.15.

Unum Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNM opened at $69.8750 on Monday. 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 has a 52-week low of $52.71 and a 52-week high of $84.48. The business's 50-day moving average price is $76.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.88. The firm has a market cap of $11.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.40.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.16 EPS. Unum Group's revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Unum Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.500-8.50 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Friday, July 25th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. This is a boost from Unum Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.

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