First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Purchases 7,173 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Key Points

• First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 17.7%, acquiring an additional 7,173 shares during the second quarter, bringing their total ownership to 47,616 shares valued at approximately $14.86 million.
• Many institutional investors also increased their stakes in UnitedHealth Group, with Brighton Jones LLC boosting their stake by 176.2% to own 44,249 shares valued at $22.38 million.
• Despite mixed analyst ratings, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold", with a current average price target of $385.13 per share.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 17.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,616 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 7,173 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $14,855,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 28,231 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $2,033,000 after acquiring an additional 2,324 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 7.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,838 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $8,295,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 4.6% in the first quarter. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. now owns 70,685 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $37,021,000 after purchasing an additional 3,138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Advisors MI lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 2,878 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,507,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on UNH shares. Baird R W lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $317.00 to $409.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $267.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $325.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $300.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $385.13.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $361.29 on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $234.60 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The firm has a market cap of $327.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $335.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $341.42. 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 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 firm had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The company'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 company posted $6.80 EPS. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.000- EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

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