US Bancorp DE Cuts Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

US Bancorp DE trimmed its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,092,682 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 20,089 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 0.9% of US Bancorp DE’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $575,271,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 774.0% in the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 673 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Millington Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Millington Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,156 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,591,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,901 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 49.1% in the third quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,807 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,415,000 after purchasing an additional 925 shares during the period. Finally, Alta Advisers Ltd boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 8.3% in the third quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 2,600 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,311,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UNH. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $605.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.8 %

UNH traded down $4.26 during trading on Thursday, reaching $517.09. 1,568,495 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,169,837. The stock has a market cap of $475.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $488.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $511.06. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.88 per share. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.97%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company 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.