Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lessened its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,697 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 25 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $840,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 148.1% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 67 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $498.13 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $498.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $501.35. The firm has a market cap of $458.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.45, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.60. 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 quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.26 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on UNH. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. TD Cowen cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $597.00 price objective on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $579.74.

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.