UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Washington Trust Bank

Washington Trust Bank decreased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 30,892 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,439 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 1.5% of Washington Trust Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $15,627,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $517.72 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $510.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $547.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $473.57 billion, a PE ratio of 33.40, a P/E/G 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.

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. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.83 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group 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 completion of the purchase, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UNH. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

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.