UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by PDS Planning Inc

PDS Planning Inc lowered its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,274 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 161 shares during the quarter. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,162,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 541 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Mystic Asset Management Inc. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 76.8% in the fourth quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,167 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the period. Argent Advisors Inc. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 2,238 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 1,775 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $898,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 662,775 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $335,271,000 after buying an additional 50,945 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $499.01 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $456.45 billion, a PE ratio of 32.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $511.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $549.15.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.83 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.19%.

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.