Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Has $72.50 Million Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 146,552 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,048 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 1.5% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $72,499,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Paralel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Paralel Advisors LLC now owns 4,047 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,040,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $278,000. Regal Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,215 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,621,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,095,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 742,581 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $374,528,000 after purchasing an additional 74,446 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $597.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $579.74.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $484.62 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $496.12 and its 200-day moving average is $504.71. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $554.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $446.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.57 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

UnitedHealth Group 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.