Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 322,771 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 7,190 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $159,675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 17.7% in the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 8,403 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,237,000 after acquiring an additional 1,266 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.7% in the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 1,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $615,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 123.7% in the third quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,411 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,216,000 after acquiring an additional 1,333 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,083.1% in the third quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 911 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $459,000 after acquiring an additional 834 shares during the period. Finally, Ramirez Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,634,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded down $1.88 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $488.01. 3,498,996 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,448,744. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $498.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $500.53. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $554.70. The stock has a market cap of $449.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.83, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.55 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 17th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on UNH shares. HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $580.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $597.00 price target for the company. Baird R W raised UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $579.74.

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.