Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Lowers Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 13,955 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,474 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $7,059,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $279,000. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 17,092 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,646,000 after buying an additional 668 shares in the last quarter. OV Management LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. OV Management LLC now owns 3,151 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,594,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $11,141,000. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $609,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.1 %

UNH stock opened at $524.56 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $479.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $508.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $541.48.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on UNH shares. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Hsbc Global Res raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective 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. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.