Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Sells 2,105 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Key Points

• Gamco Investors INC. ET AL significantly reduced its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 71.9%, now owning only 823 shares valued at $431,000 as of the latest SEC filing.
• UnitedHealth Group's stock price recently rose by 2.5%, with shares opening at $309.77, while the company's market cap stands at approximately $280.55 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $2.21 per share, which reflects an annualized dividend yield of 2.9%, with a payout ratio of 38.30%.

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lessened its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 71.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 2,105 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $431,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,729,585 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $47,519,620,000 after buying an additional 5,583,343 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in 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 worth $13,537,859,000 after buying an additional 2,486,839 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,301,010 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 8,280,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,128,174 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,257,131,000 after purchasing an additional 196,696 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,390. This represents a 5.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $198.00 target price (down previously from $312.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Raymond James Financial cut UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Hsbc Global Res cut UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $353.00 to $317.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $353.00.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE UNH traded up $7.48 on Friday, hitting $309.77. 12,018,847 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,891,168. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $288.16 and a 200-day moving average of $379.63. 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 52 week low of $234.60 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The stock has a market cap of $280.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.44.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $111.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.80 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.000- EPS. Analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.