Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Takes Position in Unum Group $UNM

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 231,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $16,913,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $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. boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 6,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $520,000 after buying an additional 753 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 6,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $542,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Trading Up 1.1%

UNM opened at $89.86 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.24. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.45. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $68.28 and a 1-year high of $93.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.07. Unum Group had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 5.86%.The business had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Unum Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.600-8.90 EPS. Analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 24th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 24th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 40.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Zacks Research raised Unum Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Unum Group from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Unum Group from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Unum Group from $88.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Unum Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Unum Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.83.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.14, for a total value of $961,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,412,922.18. This trade represents a 21.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Unum Group Profile

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.