The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Cuts Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,984,371 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 205,820 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.22% of UnitedHealth Group worth $619,064,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Caitlin John LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 14.8% during the first quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 862 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $451,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 21.8% during the 2nd quarter. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC now owns 4,425 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,380,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,324,000. Wealth Effects LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 14.4% during the second quarter. Wealth Effects LLC now owns 4,688 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 48.9% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,790 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,806,000 after buying an additional 1,901 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $328.40 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $340.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $316.45. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $234.60 and a 1 year high of $606.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $297.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.14, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.43.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $310.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $286.00 to $408.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $378.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $325.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $352.00 to $386.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Seventeen 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $385.54.

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.