Moran Wealth Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Moran Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,731 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 976 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $14,073,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 53,573.1% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,352,490 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,238,515,000 after purchasing an additional 2,348,107 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 49.3% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,617,813 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,904,670,000 after buying an additional 1,195,352 shares during the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 75.0% in the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,011,150 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,014,002,000 after acquiring an additional 862,024 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 35.9% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,090,986 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,627,311,000 after purchasing an additional 815,822 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canoe Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 459.9% in the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 948,527 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $499,371,000 after buying an additional 779,107 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on UNH. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $605.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $570.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $511.65. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,397,271 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,271,891. The stock has a market cap of $470.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $482.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $511.48. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share 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 business 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 business posted $6.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $1.88 per share. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.97%.

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.