Ritholtz Wealth Management Trims Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Ritholtz Wealth Management cut its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,634 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,757 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $8,415,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 132.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 65 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on UNH shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $626.79.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $511.02 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $553.38 and its 200-day moving average is $562.98. The company has a market cap of $470.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.83 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.