D.A. Davidson & CO. Buys 14,315 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Key Points

• D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 33.7% during the second quarter, acquiring an additional 14,315 shares, bringing its total holdings to 56,801 shares valued at approximately $17.72 million.
• Despite strong revenue growth of 12.9% year-over-year, UnitedHealth's quarterly earnings fell short of analysts' estimates, reporting $4.08 EPS compared to the expected $4.45 EPS.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $2.21 per share with a yield of 2.4%, reflecting a dividend payout ratio of 38.3%.

D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 33.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 56,801 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 14,315 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $17,720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter valued at $3,846,764,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 valued at $47,519,620,000 after purchasing an additional 5,583,343 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased 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 valued at $13,537,859,000 after purchasing an additional 2,486,839 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased 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 valued at $859,518,000 after purchasing an additional 950,928 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased 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 valued at $3,702,736,000 after purchasing an additional 847,054 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $361.29 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $327.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 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. The business's 50-day moving average is $335.48 and its 200-day moving average is $341.42. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.80 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.000- EPS. Equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is 38.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on UNH shares. Oppenheimer reduced 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. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $267.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $406.00 price target on the stock. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $385.13.

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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