UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Holdings Lifted by Federated Hermes Inc.

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 25.2% during the first quarter, owning 116,837 shares valued at $61.19 million.
• UnitedHealth Group's latest earnings report showed a miss in EPS at $4.08 compared to the consensus estimate of $5.16, alongside a revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $2.21 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $8.84 and a yield of 3.39%.

Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 25.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 116,837 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 23,551 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $61,194,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $2,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,324 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 263,655 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $133,373,000 after purchasing an additional 9,872 shares in the last quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC now owns 8,249 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,173,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nemes Rush Group LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 15,694 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $7,939,000 after acquiring an additional 1,438 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 6,033 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,171,390. The trade was a 5.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UNH. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $325.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $308.00 price objective (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, May 19th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $378.95.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of UNH traded up $5.36 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $266.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 22,302,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,886,933. The company has a fifty day moving average of $298.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $420.36. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $248.88 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The company has a market cap of $241.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.16 by ($1.08). 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 in the prior year, the business earned $6.80 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $2.21 dividend. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

UnitedHealth Group 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.