Unum Group $UNM Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 30.6% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,247,940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,433,139 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $237,197,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $247,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Unum Group by 157.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $149,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Unum Group by 26.6% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $641,000 after buying an additional 1,666 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in Unum Group by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 6,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $520,000 after buying an additional 753 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Unum Group by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 6,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $542,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.14, for a total transaction of $961,680.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,412,922.18. This represents a 21.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Stock Down 0.7%

UNM stock opened at $87.77 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.08, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.35. Unum Group has a one year low of $68.28 and a one year high of $93.21. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $87.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.96.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.07. Unum Group had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 5.86%.The company had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.04 EPS. Unum Group’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Unum Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.600-8.90 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 24th will be paid a $0.505 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 24th. This is an increase from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research dropped their price target on Unum Group from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “moderate buy” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Unum Group from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $106.00 price objective on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.17.

About Unum Group

Unum Group (NYSE: UNM) is a leading provider of employee benefits in the United States and selected international markets, specializing in disability, life, accident and critical illness insurance. Through both fully insured and self-funded arrangements, the company offers group coverage designed to protect income and mitigate financial hardship for employees and their families. Its portfolio includes short-term and long-term disability plans, group life and accidental death & dismemberment (AD&D) policies, as well as critical illness and hospital indemnity products.

In addition to its core product lines, Unum Group markets voluntary benefits under its Colonial Life brand, allowing employees to purchase supplemental insurance such as accident, cancer, and dental coverage directly through payroll deductions.