Aberdeen Group plc Grows Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Aberdeen Group plc raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 8.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,281,971 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 104,795 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises about 0.7% of Aberdeen Group plc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.14% of UnitedHealth Group worth $398,456,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 90,729,585 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $47,519,620,000 after purchasing an additional 5,583,343 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.6% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,847,940 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $13,537,859,000 after purchasing an additional 2,486,839 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,128,174 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,257,131,000 after purchasing an additional 196,696 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter worth $3,846,764,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 13.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,070,385 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,702,736,000 after acquiring an additional 847,054 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $440.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $198.00 target price (down previously from $312.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Baird R W lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $352.00 to $386.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $267.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.09.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 3.6%

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $354.30 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $234.60 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The firm has a market cap of $320.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.35, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $318.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $350.41.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.45 by ($0.37). The business had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 5.04%.The firm’s revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.80 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.000- EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.30%.

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.