Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC Has $1.98 Million Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,918 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 92 shares during the period. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,982,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Delta Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% in the third quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $965,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. First PREMIER Bank raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 7.0% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 274 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $160,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.9% in the third quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC now owns 990 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $579,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Jmac Enterprises LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the third quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Powers Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% during the third quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 418 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $538.29 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $539.43 and its 200 day moving average is $565.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The company has a market capitalization of $495.38 billion, a PE ratio of 34.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.74 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.19%.

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.