HighTower Advisors LLC Has $9.05 Million Stock Position in Unum Group $UNM

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 101,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,244 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $9,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Unum Group by 7,918.5% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 15,097,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,349,718,000 after purchasing an additional 14,909,231 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Unum Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,108,919,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Unum Group by 0.5% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised 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 during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 worth $181,622,000 after purchasing an additional 607,684 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on UNM. UBS Group set a $94.00 target price on Unum Group in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Unum Group from $101.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wolfe Research dropped their price objective on Unum Group from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $106.00 price objective on shares of Unum Group in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Unum Group from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unum Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.42.

Unum Group Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:UNM opened at $94.32 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.93 billion, a PE ratio of 21.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $90.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.69. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $69.02 and a 1 year high of $96.77.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.16. The firm had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 5.26%.The business’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.92 EPS. Unum Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.600-8.900 EPS. Analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, August 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 24th were issued a dividend of $0.505 per share. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 24th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is 47.09%.

About Unum Group

Unum Group is an insurance company that provides financial protection and employee benefits through workplace and individual products. Its offerings include disability insurance, life insurance, accident insurance, critical illness coverage, and related benefits designed to help individuals and families manage income loss and other financial risks.

The company serves employers, employees, and individual customers primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. Its products are distributed through employers, insurance brokers, benefits advisers, and other intermediaries.