Ritholtz Wealth Management Has $8.42 Million Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Ritholtz Wealth Management lowered its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor 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.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% in 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 in the last quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 132.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 65 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $511.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $553.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $562.98. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The firm has a market cap of $470.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 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, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $626.79.

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.