Unum Group $UNM Shares Sold by Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI

Key Points

• Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI has reduced its stake in Unum Group by 33.5%, selling 482,315 shares and owning 0.55% of the company, valued at approximately $78 million.
• Unum Group recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.46 per share, reflecting a 2.5% yield, up from the previous $0.42 per share.
• The company's earnings for the quarter missed estimates, reporting $2.07 per share against a consensus of $2.23, although its revenue slightly surpassed expectations at $3.36 billion.

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lessened its stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) by 33.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 958,175 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 482,315 shares during the quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI owned 0.55% of Unum Group worth $78,053,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of UNM. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 28.3% in the first quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 3,802 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 838 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $240,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 0.3% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 60,370 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,918,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $646,000. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 88.4% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 17,302 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,409,000 after purchasing an additional 8,120 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company's stock.

Unum Group Stock Down 0.1%

UNM stock traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $75.19. 1,525,048 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,440,049. 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 $54.72 and a 1-year high of $84.48. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $74.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.50. The company has a market cap of $12.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.38.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 13.44% and a net margin of 11.77%.The company had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.16 EPS. The firm'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 analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 25th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 25th. This is an increase from Unum Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio is 22.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UNM. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $85.00 to $79.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $95.00 price objective (down previously from $100.00) on shares of Unum Group in a report 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. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Unum Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $91.15.

Unum Group Company 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.