Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Unum Group $UNM

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 333,861 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,677 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $29,847,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UNM. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Unum Group in the 4th quarter worth about $1,108,919,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Unum Group by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,653,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $438,127,000 after purchasing an additional 26,753 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 7.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,084,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $298,287,000 after purchasing an additional 292,670 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 35.1% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,339,289 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $181,622,000 after purchasing an additional 607,684 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,356,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $105,161,000 after buying an additional 68,957 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on UNM. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Unum Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $106.00 price target on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Unum Group from $117.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wolfe Research cut their target price on Unum Group from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Atlantic Securities set a $88.00 price target on Unum Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.00.

Unum Group Trading Up 0.8%

Unum Group stock opened at $93.41 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $14.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.77, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.26. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $68.28 and a fifty-two week high of $94.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $89.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16. The company had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 5.26%.The firm’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.92 earnings per share. Unum Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.600-8.900 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 24th were issued a $0.505 dividend. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 24th. This is an increase from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 47.09%.

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.