UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by abrdn plc

abrdn plc decreased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 10.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,127,047 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 135,080 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up approximately 1.2% of abrdn plc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. abrdn plc’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $656,020,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,096,896,000 after buying an additional 5,290,025 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter worth $1,117,462,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 107.8% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,306,729 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,141,113,000 after buying an additional 1,196,758 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at about $480,903,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,942,956,000 after acquiring an additional 880,183 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on UNH. KeyCorp began coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:UNH opened at $565.46 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $522.16 billion, a PE ratio of 36.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $608.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $583.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $539.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.56 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.72%.

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.