Invesco Ltd. Cuts Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Invesco Ltd. lessened its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 30.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,157,412 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,833,037 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,296,988,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 416.7% in the 1st 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. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Islay Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 339.1% in the 1st quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 101 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $324.72 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $294.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.43. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $234.60 and a 12 month high of $622.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50-day moving average of $342.54 and a 200 day moving average of $315.53.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $2.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $113.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.19 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.04% and a return on equity of 19.23%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.15 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th will be issued a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $406.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $423.00 to $417.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $325.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. KeyCorp upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $300.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $397.12.

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.