Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Acquires 4,315 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Key Points

• Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. has increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 7.0%, now holding 65,753 shares valued at approximately $20.51 million.
• Analyst ratings for UnitedHealth Group vary, with 16 analysts rating it as a Buy, while price targets fluctuate between $198.00 and $418.00.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $2.21, which represents an annualized yield of 2.6% and a payout ratio of 38.30%.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,753 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 4,315 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $20,513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,224 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,165,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 28.6% during the first quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 90 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 5.1% in the first quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 430 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the first quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 3,642 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,907,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bensler LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% during the first quarter. Bensler LLC now owns 6,945 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $3,637,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.4%

UNH traded up $4.80 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $341.49. 8,883,715 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,684,542. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $234.60 and a one year high of $630.73. The company has a market cap of $309.27 billion, a PE ratio of 14.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.44. 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 stock's fifty day simple moving average is $296.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $362.50.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.80 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.000- EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is 38.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on UNH shares. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $337.00 to $379.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Baird R W lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $337.00 to $352.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $358.95.

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.