Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 23,539 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.3%, now owning approximately 7.5 million shares valued at about $3.93 billion.
• Vanguard Group Inc. and Wellington Management Group LLP both increased their stakes in UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% and 10.6%, respectively, during the first quarter.
• The company reported earnings of $4.08 per share, missing analysts' estimates, along with a quarterly revenue of $111.62 billion, slightly below expectations.

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 0.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,498,702 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 23,539 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up 1.4% of Alliancebernstein L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.83% of UnitedHealth Group worth $3,927,445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 251.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 784,689 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $410,981,000 after acquiring an additional 561,451 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 21.1% in the 1st quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 70,000 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $36,662,000 after acquiring an additional 12,198 shares during the period. Appaloosa LP grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 175,000 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $91,656,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,471 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $770,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 140 Summer Partners LP bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $79,576,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

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 transaction of $179,645.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 10,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,171,390. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE UNH traded up $4.72 on Friday, reaching $315.10. The stock had a trading volume of 14,093,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,031,034. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $288.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $375.70. 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 Incorporated has a 1 year low of $234.60 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The company has a market capitalization of $285.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.45.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.45 by ($0.37). The firm 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.80 EPS. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.000- EPS. On average, analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $337.00 to $379.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $440.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. TD Cowen lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $337.00 to $352.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $354.86.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.