Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Has $129.30 Million Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 255,606 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 6,453 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 1.3% of Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $129,301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Howard Capital Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $341,000. GSG Advisors LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 14.4% in the third quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 746 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 11.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,778,636 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,039,933,000 after buying an additional 180,479 shares in the last quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $239,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 86,691 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $50,686,000 after acquiring an additional 1,765 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired 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. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $493.35 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $513.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $553.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The company has a market capitalization of $451.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.83 EPS. On average, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors 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 yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on UNH. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $629.32.

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.