AQR Capital Management LLC Boosts Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 251.5%, acquiring 561,451 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to approximately $410.98 million.
• UnitedHealth Group reported a 5.04% net margin for the last quarter, with a revenue of $111.62 billion, missing analysts' expectations by about $130 million.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $2.21, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.9% with a payout ratio of 38.3%.

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 251.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 784,689 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 561,451 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.09% of UnitedHealth Group worth $410,981,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UNH. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 416.7% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 62 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter worth about $42,000. Copia Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, O Brien Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 74.0% in the 1st quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 87 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,390. The trade was a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Baird R W downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $360.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $354.86.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH traded up $4.72 on Friday, reaching $315.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,093,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,031,034. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $234.60 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $285.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.65, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.45. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $288.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $374.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.45 by ($0.37). The company had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.80 EPS. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.000- EPS. Research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is currently 38.30%.

UnitedHealth Group Profile

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a diversified health care company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: UnitedHealthcare, Optum Health, Optum Insight, and Optum Rx. The UnitedHealthcare segment offers consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services for national employers, public sector employers, mid-sized employers, small businesses, and individuals; health care coverage, and health and well-being services to individuals age 50 and older addressing their needs; Medicaid plans, children's health insurance and health care programs; and health and dental benefits, and hospital and clinical services, as well as health care benefits products and services to state programs caring for the economically disadvantaged, medically underserved, and those without the benefit of employer-funded health care coverage.