Founders Financial Securities LLC Lowers Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Founders Financial Securities LLC lowered its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 12.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,921 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,018 shares during the period. Founders Financial Securities LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $3,424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UNH. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 148.1% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 67 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $579.74.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH traded up $22.82 during trading on Friday, reaching $509.26. 22,734,197 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,685,941. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $498.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $501.96. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $554.70. The company has a market cap of $468.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.13, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.58.

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

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 17th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.