Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Has $54.12 Million Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Key Points

• Ceredex Value Advisors LLC reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.8%, selling 1,902 shares and now holding 103,335 shares valued at approximately $54.1 million.
• Insider CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of UnitedHealth Group at an average price of $305, representing a 5.36% decrease in his ownership.
• Analysts have varied outlooks on the stock, with recent target price adjustments indicating raised caution, including Royal Bank of Canada lowering its target from $355 to $286 and Erste Group downgrade from "strong-buy" to "hold".

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 103,335 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 1,902 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 1.2% of Ceredex Value Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $54,122,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,729,585 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $47,519,620,000 after buying an additional 5,583,343 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.6% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,847,940 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $13,537,859,000 after buying an additional 2,486,839 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,807,527,000 after buying an additional 1,058,488 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,592,718 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,346,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,301,010 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,295,153 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,344,586,000 after acquiring an additional 8,280,404 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,171,390. This trade represents a 5.36% 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. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. HSBC reissued a "reduce" rating and issued a $270.00 target price (down previously from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $440.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $342.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $353.00.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH stock traded up $3.51 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $303.94. 9,956,016 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,825,404. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $234.60 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The stock's fifty day moving average is $288.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $384.83. The company has a market cap of $275.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.43. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.45 by ($0.37). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 5.04%.The company had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.80 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.000- EPS. Sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend 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.