WestEnd Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

WestEnd Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 8.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,601 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 5,874 shares during the quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $19,843,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 416.7% in the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 62 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter worth $42,000. Kentucky Trust Co grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 53.8% in the second quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 143 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Brien Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 74.0% in the first quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 87 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of UNH opened at $363.95 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $311.44 and its 200 day moving average is $352.42. The company has a market capitalization of $329.62 billion, a PE ratio of 15.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.47. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $234.60 and a 12-month high of $630.73. 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 (NYSE:UNH) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.80 EPS. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.000- EPS. Research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 38.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $337.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $325.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $337.00 to $379.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Baird R W cut UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $418.00 to $310.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $365.00.

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.