UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Viking Fund Management LLC

Viking Fund Management LLC trimmed its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 60.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,000 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 6,000 shares during the period. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,023,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UNH. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 132.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 65 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $627.74.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $519.08 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $477.70 billion, a PE ratio of 33.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $545.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $564.10.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.83 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.