Donald Smith & CO. Inc. Acquires Shares of 649,485 Unum Group $UNM

Donald Smith & CO. Inc. bought a new position in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 649,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $58,064,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Unum Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. SHP Wealth Management bought a new stake in Unum Group during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC bought a new stake in Unum Group during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in Unum Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 385.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the period. 86.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on UNM shares. Weiss Ratings raised Unum Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $117.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $106.00 target price on shares of Unum Group in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Unum Group from $88.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.00.

Unum Group Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE UNM opened at $87.75 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $13.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.26. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $89.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.70. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $68.70 and a 12-month high of $94.55.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, hitting 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 for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.92 EPS. Unum Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.600-8.900 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 24th were given a dividend of $0.505 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 24th. This is a boost from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is currently 47.09%.

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.