Congress Asset Management Co. MA Sells 171,127 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Congress Asset Management Co. MA lessened its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 72.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 66,498 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 171,127 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $32,897,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Paralel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Paralel Advisors LLC now owns 4,047 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,040,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $278,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,095,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,479 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $746,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mystic Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $208,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on UNH. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $597.00 target price for the company. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $675.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $579.74.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH stock opened at $482.59 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $497.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $503.94. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $554.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $444.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.50, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.57 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 51.34%.

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.