Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. Trims Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. cut its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 49.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,707 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,698 shares during the quarter. Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 8.9% during the first quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 305 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $160,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.9% during the first quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,947 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,544,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Brogan Financial Inc. grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.4% during the first quarter. Brogan Financial Inc. now owns 819 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $429,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. West Wealth Group LLC now owns 882 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $462,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 1,154 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $604,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on UNH. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $352.00 to $386.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $310.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $198.00 price target (down from $312.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $300.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $389.29.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $368.74 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $333.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $234.60 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $340.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $332.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $113.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $113.19 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $7.15 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

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

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.