Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Sells 73,093 Shares of Unum Group $UNM

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lowered its position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 14.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 429,129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 73,093 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Unum Group were worth $33,257,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in Unum Group during the 4th quarter worth $263,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Accurate Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $251,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its position in Unum Group by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 59,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,577,000 after acquiring an additional 11,117 shares during the period. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Unum Group during the fourth quarter worth about $221,000. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Unum Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “moderate buy” on UNM and maintained a $95 price target (implies ~30% upside versus current levels), supporting a longer?term constructive view. KBW reaffirmation
• Positive Sentiment: Consensus analyst positioning: several outlets report a consensus “moderate buy” thread among analysts, which can provide support versus more bearish lone ratings. Consensus recommendation
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research raised its FY2028 EPS view modestly (to $10.72 from $10.58) — a longer?horizon improvement but unlikely to offset near?term concerns by itself. Zacks FY2028 note
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research cut multiple near?term quarterly and annual EPS estimates and reiterated a “Strong Sell” rating: Q1 2026 to $2.08 (from $2.11), Q2 2026 to $2.18 (from $2.21), Q3 2026 to $2.23 (from $2.25), Q4 2026 to $2.28 (from $2.31/2.34 reported in notes), FY2026 to $8.76 (from $8.88), and FY2027 to $9.72 (from $9.84). Those downgrades increase near?term earnings risk and are the primary reason for downward stock pressure. Zacks cuts

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on UNM shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Unum Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “moderate buy” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Unum Group from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Unum Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Unum Group news, Director Cynthia Egan sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.00, for a total transaction of $657,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 42,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,127,758. The trade was a 17.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.00, for a total transaction of $255,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 29,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,150,069. This trade represents a 10.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,852 shares of company stock worth $1,590,734. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNM opened at $72.87 on Friday. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $66.81 and a 1 year high of $83.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.66.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.19). Unum Group had a net margin of 5.65% and a return on equity of 12.62%. The business had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Unum Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.600-8.900 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. Unum Group’s payout ratio is currently 43.29%.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Company 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.