Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. Cuts Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. decreased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 728,407 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 17,592 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises about 3.3% of Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. owned approximately 0.08% of UnitedHealth Group worth $197,100,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 150,773 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $49,772,000 after buying an additional 3,934 shares in the last quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,287.2% during the 1st quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. now owns 60,022 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $16,241,000 after buying an additional 55,695 shares in the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 127.6% in the fourth quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 34,947 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $11,536,000 after acquiring an additional 19,591 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,600,260 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $30,238,162,000 after purchasing an additional 995,210 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. now owns 102,260 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $33,757,000 after purchasing an additional 8,226 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE UNH opened at $416.89 on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $234.60 and a 12 month high of $461.62. The company's 50-day moving average price is $408.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $346.11. The stock has a market cap of $378.59 billion, a PE ratio of 26.83, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $1.44. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.14% and a return on equity of 16.53%. The company had revenue of $112.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $110.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.08 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 19.500-20.000 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 19.69 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $2.32 per share. This represents a $9.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.21. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $440.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. DA Davidson set a $512.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $340.00 to $373.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $455.92.

UnitedHealth Group Profile

UnitedHealth Group Inc is a diversified health care company headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, that operates two primary business platforms: UnitedHealthcare and Optum. Founded in 1977, the company provides a broad range of health benefits and health care services to individuals, employers, governmental entities and other organizations. Its operations span commercial employer-sponsored plans, individual and Medicare and Medicaid programs, and services for customers and health systems in the United States and selected international markets.

UnitedHealthcare is the company's benefits business, administering health plans and networks, managing provider relationships, and offering coverage products for employers, individuals, and government-sponsored programs.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.