UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Capital Market Strategies LLC

Capital Market Strategies LLC decreased its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,885 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 102 shares during the period. Capital Market Strategies LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $954,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 220,590 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $128,975,000 after purchasing an additional 26,074 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,275.3% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 44,547 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,060,000 after purchasing an additional 41,308 shares during the period. Parsifal Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at about $21,165,000. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $558,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,061,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,884,019,000 after purchasing an additional 193,800 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on UNH shares. HSBC cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $627.58.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.8 %

UNH traded up $4.01 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $517.01. 1,857,763 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,004,598. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $559.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $561.31. The stock has a market cap of $475.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.68, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The company’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.56 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 54.72%.

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.