Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Trims Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC reduced its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 29.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 555,809 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 227,334 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 0.9% of Lord Abbett & CO. LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned about 0.06% of UnitedHealth Group worth $281,162,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UNH. Howard Capital Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth approximately $341,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,778,636 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,039,933,000 after buying an additional 180,479 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 8.2% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 635 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $371,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.7% in the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 1,275 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $746,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $900,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $642.00 to $560.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. HSBC reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $490.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $603.05.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH traded down $6.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $418.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,255,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,482,211. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $412.02 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The business's 50-day moving average price is $503.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $534.62. The stock has a market cap of $380.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect 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, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.18%.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.