UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Ballast Advisors LLC

Ballast Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,104 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 147 shares during the period. Ballast Advisors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of UNH. Howard Capital Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $341,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 180,479 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 6,458 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,777,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.1% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,887 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,688,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 6.4% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 43,036 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,162,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $512.30 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $468.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $510.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $547.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.83 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.19%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Truist Financial lowered 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. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $629.32.

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.