Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. Lowers Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,567 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 33 shares during the period. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,220,234 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $12,715,790,000 after purchasing an additional 527,526 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,635,038 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,289,386,000 after acquiring an additional 1,893,192 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 100,076.4% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,823,820 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,268,753,000 after acquiring an additional 11,812,017 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 11,749,819 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,647,433,000 after acquiring an additional 399,739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $5,210,004,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH traded up $10.10 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $478.99. 8,753,188 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,466,714. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $554.70. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $490.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $515.63. The stock has a market cap of $441.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.09, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.54.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.39% and a net margin of 6.02%. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $1.88 dividend. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $675.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $571.20.

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.