Stokes Capital Advisors LLC Decreases Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Key Points

• Stokes Capital Advisors LLC reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 8.7% in the second quarter, owning 18,678 shares worth approximately $5.83 million after selling 1,777 shares.
• Despite some hedge funds increasing their positions in UnitedHealth Group, the company has recently faced analyst downgrades, with Wells Fargo and JPMorgan reducing their price targets significantly.
• UnitedHealth Group's shares are currently priced at $339.57, down 2.4%, and the company reported Q2 earnings that missed expectations, earning $4.08 EPS against a consensus of $4.45.

Stokes Capital Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,678 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 1,777 shares during the period. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $5,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Citizens National Bank Trust Department increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 17,886 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $9,368,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 530,103 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $277,641,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465 shares during the period. Caitlin John LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 862 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,324,000. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 277,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $145,559,000 after purchasing an additional 14,112 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $440.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $353.00 to $317.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $306.00 to $267.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $418.00 to $310.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $358.95.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $339.57 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The business has a fifty day moving average of $293.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $367.23. The stock has a market cap of $307.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.71, a PEG ratio of 2.27 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.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.45 by ($0.37). The company 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.80 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.000- EPS. On average, 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 will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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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