Essex Financial Services Inc. Has $2.97 Million Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Key Points

• Essex Financial Services Inc. reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 18.8% during the second quarter, holding 9,515 shares valued at approximately $2.97 million.
• Major hedge funds such as Brighton Jones LLC and Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased their holdings in UnitedHealth Group significantly during the fourth quarter, reflecting strong institutional interest in the company.
• Analysts have varying price targets for UnitedHealth Group, with Morgan Stanley raising it from $325 to $395 and JPMorgan lowering it from $418 to $310, indicating a mixed outlook among experts.

Essex Financial Services Inc. lessened its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 18.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,515 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 2,210 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,968,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 176.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 44,249 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $22,384,000 after acquiring an additional 28,231 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $2,033,000 after buying an additional 2,324 shares during the last quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 45.2% during the 4th quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 848 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $429,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $73,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on UNH shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $325.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $337.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $418.00 to $310.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $355.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, 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. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $358.95.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $351.87 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $318.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.45. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $234.60 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $298.81 and a 200-day moving average of $362.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.45 by ($0.37). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 5.04%.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 prior year, the firm posted $6.80 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.000- EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was 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.

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