Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. Takes $570,000 Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 1,827 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $570,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased 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 position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 416.7% during the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 62 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter worth $42,000. Kentucky Trust Co increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 53.8% during the second quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 143 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, O Brien Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 74.0% during the first quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 87 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 3.6%

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $354.30 on Monday. 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $318.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $348.08. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $234.60 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $320.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.47.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The firm had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business 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. On average, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $198.00 price target (down from $312.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $310.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $355.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.09.

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.