Welch & Forbes LLC Sells 245 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Welch & Forbes LLC decreased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,769 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 245 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,511,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Bensler LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bensler LLC now owns 7,293 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,677,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX now owns 1,695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $855,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,988 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,626,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors now owns 1,752 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $923,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,347 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,235,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on UNH. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $570.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.3 %

UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $6.58 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $500.96. The stock had a trading volume of 3,395,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,378,167. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $554.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $481.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $511.98. The stock has a market cap of $460.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.55.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. 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 firm earned $6.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.97%.

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.