UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Holdings Cut by Securian Asset Management Inc.

Securian Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 49,462 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,611 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up 0.7% of Securian Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $25,021,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Howard Capital Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $341,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,778,636 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,039,933,000 after purchasing an additional 180,479 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.9% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 480 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Everhart Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 19.5% during the third quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,628 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,706,000 after acquiring an additional 754 shares during the period. Finally, Vantage Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.6% during the third quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 154,130 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $90,117,000 after acquiring an additional 3,909 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $486.54 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $445.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $512.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $552.00. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents 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 available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is 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.