Guggenheim Capital LLC Lowers Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Guggenheim Capital LLC reduced its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 96,392 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 2,609 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $48,761,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on UNH. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. HSBC raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $595.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $632.85.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 22.0 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded down $128.94 during trading on Friday, reaching $456.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 29,048,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,373,443. The firm's 50-day moving average is $512.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $540.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $438.50 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The company has a market cap of $417.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.43, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.91 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

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.