UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Nixon Peabody Trust Co.

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. lowered its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 46.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 400 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 350 shares during the quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $202,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jmac Enterprises LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Wallace Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wallace Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,119 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,239,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 902 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $456,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 4,686 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,740,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Paragon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Paragon Capital Management LLC now owns 721 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $422,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH opened at $474.95 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $516.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $557.16. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The stock has a market cap of $437.09 billion, a PE ratio of 30.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.83 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 54.19%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

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.