Unum Group $UNM Position Trimmed by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al trimmed its holdings in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 94.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 190,396 shares during the quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $1,055,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. GWN Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Unum Group in the second quarter valued at $708,000. Amundi increased its position in Unum Group by 1,140.5% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 340,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,436,000 after buying an additional 312,999 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $84,097,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group during the second quarter worth approximately $1,482,000. Finally, AXQ Capital LP increased its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 266.3% in the 2nd quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 27,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,496,000 after acquiring an additional 20,300 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Unum Group stock opened at $73.72 on Friday. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $69.02 and a 12-month high of $96.77. 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 stock has a market cap of $11.67 billion, a PE ratio of 52.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a 50-day moving average of $91.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.04.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The financial services provider reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 1.94% and a return on equity of 12.57%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, August 26th that authorizes the company to buy back $1 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be given a dividend of $0.5050 per share. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. Unum Group’s payout ratio is presently 143.26%.

Insider Activity

In other Unum Group news, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 2,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.31, for a total value of $206,350.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 8,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $769,003.74. This represents a 21.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Keaney sold 4,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.02, for a total transaction of $404,286.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 36,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,431,918.04. This trade represents a 10.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 10,488 shares of company stock worth $988,396 over the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Unum Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting Unum Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Unum completed a $3.8 billion long-term-care reinsurance transaction with Fortitude Re, which may reduce its exposure to long-term-care risks. Fortitude Re closes $3.8B long-term care reinsurance deal with Unum
• Positive Sentiment: Adjusted third-quarter EPS of $2.20 topped estimates, with premium growth and investment income helping offset elevated disability claims. UNM Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates on Premium Growth and Investment Income
• Neutral Sentiment: KBW, Truist, and Barclays cut their price targets, but retained positive ratings—outperform, buy, and overweight, respectively—suggesting analysts still see potential upside.
• Negative Sentiment: The quarter included a reported net loss of $419.7 million, while revenue was reported below analysts’ expectations. Elevated disability claims also weighed on results, overshadowing the adjusted EPS beat. Unum Group Q3 loss and reinsurance deal
• Negative Sentiment: Unum disclosed an SEC comment-letter process and a reserve-methodology change; shareholder-investigation notices followed. The related regulatory and legal uncertainty could weigh on investor sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: Industry commentary also flags rising medical costs and inflation as potential sources of pricing pressure for accident and health insurers, including Unum. Accident and health insurers face cost pressure

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UNM. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Unum Group from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $108.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Unum Group from $109.00 to $101.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Unum Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.92.

Unum Group Company Profile

Unum Group is an insurance company that provides employee benefits and related protection products through employers, as well as selected individual policies. Its offerings are designed to help people manage the financial impact of illness, injury, death and other unexpected events.

The company’s products include short-term and long-term disability insurance, group and individual life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment coverage, and supplemental health benefits such as accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity insurance.