River Road Asset Management LLC Has $24.36 Million Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

River Road Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 56.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,665 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 54,666 shares during the quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $24,361,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Macroview Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% during the second quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $625.00 price target (down from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp started coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, October 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $615.53.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $558.49 on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $608.63. The stock has a market cap of $515.72 billion, a PE ratio of 36.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $581.37 and a 200-day moving average of $542.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.56 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.72%.

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.