Quent Capital LLC Reduces Stake in Unum Group $UNM

Quent Capital LLC reduced its stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 13.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 870 shares during the quarter. Quent Capital LLC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $450,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group during the 2nd quarter worth $8,593,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,608,000 after purchasing an additional 852 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 150,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,134,000 after purchasing an additional 9,884 shares during the period. Vicus Capital purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group during the 2nd quarter worth $253,000. Finally, Consolidated Planning Corp grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 75,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,064,000 after purchasing an additional 4,135 shares during the period. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unum Group Price Performance

UNM opened at $79.43 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $72.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.19. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $59.98 and a 12-month high of $84.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $13.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.50, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.36.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 13.44%. Unum Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.16 EPS. Unum Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.500-8.50 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 25th were given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 25th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is 22.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on UNM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Unum Group from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Unum Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Unum Group from $100.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wolfe Research upgraded Unum Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price (down previously from $100.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.14.

Unum Group Company Profile

Unum Group, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial protection benefit solutions primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, Poland, and internationally. It operates through Unum US, Unum International, Colonial Life, and Closed Block segment. The company offers group long-term and short-term disability, group life, and accidental death and dismemberment products; supplemental and voluntary products, such as individual disability, voluntary benefits, and dental and vision products; and accident, sickness, disability, life, and cancer and critical illness products.