Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Lowers Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. reduced its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 109,601 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,604 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 0.9% of Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $57,702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 340.0% in the 3rd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 66 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 148.1% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 67 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Annapolis Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 38.6% in the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 79 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. HSBC raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $570.05.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:UNH traded up $6.58 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $500.96. The stock had a trading volume of 3,395,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,378,167. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $481.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $511.98. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $554.70. The company has a market capitalization of $460.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.26 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $1.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.97%.

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.