Blue Trust Inc. Reduces Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Blue Trust Inc. decreased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,936 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,277 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Citizens National Bank Trust Department grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% in the first quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 17,886 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $9,368,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Caitlin John LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 14.8% during the first quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 862 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $451,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter worth about $1,324,000. Wealth Effects LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 14.4% during the second quarter. Wealth Effects LLC now owns 4,688 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,463,000 after buying an additional 591 shares during the period. Finally, Arlington Partners LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter worth about $2,229,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 3.6%

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $354.30 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $234.60 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The firm has a market cap of $320.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.35, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $318.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $350.41.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 38.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $310.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $355.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Baird R W cut UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $379.00 to $433.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.09.

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.