Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Purchases 240,664 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 9.2%, acquiring an additional 240,664 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 2.86 million shares.
• UnitedHealth Group reported $4.08 earnings per share for the latest quarter, missing analysts' expectations of $4.45, although its revenue grew 12.9% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $2.21, resulting in an annualized dividend of $8.84 with a yield of 2.4%.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,855,717 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 240,664 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 0.6% of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.31% of UnitedHealth Group worth $890,898,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 416.7% during the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 62 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 53.8% during the second quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 143 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 74.0% in the first quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 87 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $361.07 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $337.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $340.29. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $234.60 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $327.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.47. 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 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). The business had revenue of $111.62 billion during 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 company's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.80 EPS. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.000- EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is 38.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $310.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $406.00 price objective for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $379.00 to $433.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $310.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $385.13.

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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