Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Trims Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Key Points

• Epoch Investment Partners Inc. has reduced its position in UnitedHealth Group by 14.5%, making it the company's 4th largest holding.
• UnitedHealth Group has revealed a $2.21 quarterly dividend, translating to an annualized dividend of $8.84 and a yield of 2.9%.
• Despite reporting a miss on EPS estimates in its latest quarterly earnings, the company showed a year-over-year revenue increase of 12.9%.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. decreased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 14.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 609,231 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 103,493 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises 1.7% of Epoch Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned 0.07% of UnitedHealth Group worth $319,085,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of UNH. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,729,585 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $47,519,620,000 after buying an additional 5,583,343 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.6% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,847,940 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $13,537,859,000 after buying an additional 2,486,839 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,807,527,000 after buying an additional 1,058,488 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,592,718 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,346,712,000 after buying an additional 2,301,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,295,153 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,344,586,000 after buying an additional 8,280,404 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UNH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. Raymond James Financial cut UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective 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. Hsbc Global Res cut UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $353.00.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded up $3.51 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $303.94. 9,956,016 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,825,404. 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 Incorporated has a 12 month low of $234.60 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $275.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.43. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $288.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $384.83.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.45 by ($0.37). The company had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.80 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.000- EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,171,390. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.