UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH Shares Bought by Focus Partners Wealth

Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 5.3% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 277,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,112 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $145,559,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UNH. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Copia Wealth Management acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $353.00 to $317.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $342.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. HSBC reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and set a $270.00 price objective (down previously from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $306.00 to $267.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Sixteen 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $355.77.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH opened at $348.59 on Wednesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $234.60 and a one year high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $289.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $371.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $315.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.45.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.45 by ($0.37). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The company had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.75 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.80 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.000- EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.