Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Invests $12.95 Million in Unum Group $UNM

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 144,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $12,949,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of UNM. Norges Bank bought a new position in Unum Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,108,919,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new stake in Unum Group during the fourth quarter worth about $58,860,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its stake in Unum Group by 365.3% during the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 930,534 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,116,000 after buying an additional 730,534 shares during the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the second quarter worth approximately $58,064,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 35.1% during 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 buying an additional 607,684 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE UNM opened at $89.80 on Wednesday. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $68.70 and a 1-year high of $94.55. The company has a market cap of $14.22 billion, a PE ratio of 20.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a 50-day moving average of $89.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.91.

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

Unum Group Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on UNM. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Unum Group from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $106.00 price target on shares of Unum Group in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Unum Group from $101.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Atlantic Securities set a $88.00 price objective on Unum Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Unum Group from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.42.

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.