Conning Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Key Points

• Conning Inc. significantly increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 50.2% in the second quarter, now holding nearly 119,000 shares valued at over $37 million, making it a notable position in their portfolio.
• Analysts are optimistic on UnitedHealth Group, with several firms, including Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase & Co., raising their price targets to as high as $425, reflecting increased confidence in the company's performance.
• UnitedHealth Group declared a quarterly dividend of $2.21, which translates to an annual yield of 2.5%, showcasing its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Conning Inc. increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 50.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 118,999 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 39,769 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 1.3% of Conning Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Conning Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $37,124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,846,764,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,729,585 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $47,519,620,000 after buying an additional 5,583,343 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,847,940 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $13,537,859,000 after buying an additional 2,486,839 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 137.8% in the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,641,177 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $859,518,000 after buying an additional 950,928 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,070,385 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $3,702,736,000 after buying an additional 847,054 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $310.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $325.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $440.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $310.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $383.09.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $354.30 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $318.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $350.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $320.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.35, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.47. 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 Incorporated has a 1-year low of $234.60 and a 1-year high of $630.73.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

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