Stack Financial Management Inc Sells 230 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Stack Financial Management Inc reduced its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,206 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 230 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises 2.4% of Stack Financial Management Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Stack Financial Management Inc’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $25,903,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. DecisionPoint Financial LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 155.0% in the fourth quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $57,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE UNH opened at $461.09 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $518.52 and its 200 day moving average is $559.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $424.33 billion, a PE ratio of 29.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.83 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

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.