Bank of Montreal Can Sells 272,891 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Bank of Montreal Can lowered its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 11.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,205,611 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 272,891 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.24% of UnitedHealth Group worth $1,115,730,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Bell Asset Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Bell Asset Management Ltd now owns 28,496 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $14,415,000 after acquiring an additional 922 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. now owns 44,174 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $22,346,000 after purchasing an additional 2,469 shares in the last quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC now owns 1,922 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $972,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Ashburton Jersey Ltd increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 4,457.9% during the 4th quarter. Ashburton Jersey Ltd now owns 12,762 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,456,000 after buying an additional 12,482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $524.94 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $480.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $509.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $541.85.

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. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.83 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. HSBC raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $629.32.

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.