UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH Shares Purchased by Focus Partners Wealth

Key Points

• Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 5.3% during the 1st quarter, owning approximately $145.6 million worth of shares.
• UnitedHealth Group's stock was reported to be up 8.8%, with the current trading value around $348.59 and a market cap of $315.71 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $2.21, yielding 2.5%, with a payout ratio of 38.30% for shareholders of record on September 15th.

Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 277,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 14,112 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $145,559,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 416.7% in the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 62 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Copia Wealth Management acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UNH. Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $355.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $198.00 target price (down from $312.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $355.77.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH traded up $7.11 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $353.89. 18,916,413 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,187,298. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $291.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $370.48. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $234.60 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The firm has a market cap of $320.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.45.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 5.04%.The business had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.80 EPS. The company's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.000- EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio 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.