Merit Financial Group LLC Buys 5,352 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 26% to a total of 25,925 shares valued at approximately $8.09 million.
• UnitedHealth Group reported a quarterly EPS of $4.08, falling short of analysts' expectations of $4.45, despite a 12.9% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $2.21, with an annualized dividend yield of 2.5% and a payout ratio of 38.3%.

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 26.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,925 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 5,352 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $8,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $22,384,000 after purchasing an additional 28,231 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $2,033,000 after acquiring an additional 2,324 shares in the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 3,729 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,953,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. RDA Financial Network raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.4% in the first quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 9,282 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,861,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% during the first quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 28,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $15,005,000 after buying an additional 1,004 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE UNH opened at $360.17 on Monday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $234.60 and a one year high of $630.73. 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $307.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $353.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $326.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.47.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.45 by ($0.37). The company had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 5.04%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.80 EPS. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.000- EPS. Research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $337.00 to $379.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Baird R W lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $325.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $418.00 to $310.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $358.95.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding UNH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.