UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH Stake Lessened by Guggenheim Capital LLC

Key Points

• Guggenheim Capital LLC reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 6.8% in the first quarter, now holding 89,830 shares worth approximately $47 million.
• Analysts have varied price targets for UnitedHealth Group's stock, with Bank of America raising it from $290 to $325, while Deutsche Bank lowered it significantly from $521 to $362, and the average target is currently $353.
• UnitedHealth Group recently announced a quarterly dividend of $2.21 per share, providing an annualized yield of 2.9%, with a dividend payout ratio of 38.30%.

Guggenheim Capital LLC lowered its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 6.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 89,830 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 6,562 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $47,048,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of UNH. Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 57.9% in the first quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 87,056 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $45,595,000 after acquiring an additional 31,914 shares during the last quarter. TCM Advisors LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 20.9% during the first quarter. TCM Advisors LLC now owns 1,733 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $908,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% during the first quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. now owns 650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $340,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 147.6% during the first quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 3,407 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,784,000 after buying an additional 2,031 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Samalin Investment Counsel LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 6.4% during the first quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 1,820 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $953,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on UNH. Bank of America raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $290.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $440.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $355.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $353.00.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH opened at $299.90 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $288.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $385.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $234.60 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $271.61 billion, a PE ratio of 12.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.43.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.45 by ($0.37). The firm had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. UnitedHealth Group's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.80 EPS. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.000- EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group 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 owned 10,398 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,390. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

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.

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