NS Partners Ltd Cuts Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

NS Partners Ltd trimmed its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 80,815 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 851 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises 1.7% of NS Partners Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. NS Partners Ltd’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $40,881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $57,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on UNH shares. HSBC raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. 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 note on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE UNH opened at $493.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market cap of $451.28 billion, a PE ratio of 31.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $513.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $553.76. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during 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 revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.83 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.