Liberty Capital Management Inc. Boosts Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Key Points

• Liberty Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter, now holding 14,780 shares valued at approximately $4.61 million.
• Numerous institutional investors have also significantly raised their positions in UnitedHealth Group, with Brighton Jones LLC increasing its stake by 176.2%.
• Despite reporting earnings of $4.08 per share, UnitedHealth Group fell short of analyst consensus estimates of $4.45, leading to varied ratings from brokerages ranging from "outperform" to "strong sell."

Liberty Capital Management Inc. increased its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,780 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 726 shares during the quarter. Liberty Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $4,611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 176.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 44,249 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $22,384,000 after buying an additional 28,231 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% in the fourth 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. Milestone Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 692 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Baxter Bros Inc. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 30.3% during the first quarter. Baxter Bros Inc. now owns 860 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $450,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 39.1% during the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 20,573 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $10,775,000 after purchasing an additional 5,784 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UNH. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on 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 cut UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $353.00 to $317.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $198.00 price target (down previously from $312.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $358.95.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $345.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $312.56 billion, a PE ratio of 14.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.45. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $234.60 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The company's 50-day moving average price is $303.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $357.64. 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 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 company had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.75 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.80 earnings per share. The company's revenue 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.30%.

About UnitedHealth Group

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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