UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Stake Lowered by Eagle Ridge Investment Management

Eagle Ridge Investment Management trimmed its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,281 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 306 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 3.1% of Eagle Ridge Investment Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Eagle Ridge Investment Management’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $33,779,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 13.8% in the first quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 119,665 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $59,198,000 after buying an additional 14,489 shares during the period. Dash Acquisitions Inc. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 4.3% in the first quarter. Dash Acquisitions Inc. now owns 650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% during the first quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL now owns 4,463 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,208,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 7.2% during the first quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 20,928 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $10,353,000 after purchasing an additional 1,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 856.5% during the first quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 31,631 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $15,648,000 after purchasing an additional 28,324 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $675.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $579.74.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $498.13 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $498.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $501.35. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $554.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $458.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS 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 company had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

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