UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Sovereign Financial Group Inc.

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,137 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 48 shares during the quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,249,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UNH. Bell Investment Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 525 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 35,946 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $17,783,000 after buying an additional 1,129 shares during the period. Austin Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9.8% in the first quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,246 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $573,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC now owns 9,045 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,475,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Collective Family Office LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Collective Family Office LLC now owns 1,577 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $780,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:UNH opened at $581.56 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $607.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $537.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.55, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $582.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $529.13.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.14 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. Barclays increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Truist Financial upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. HSBC upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $614.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.