UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Equitable Trust Co.

Equitable Trust Co. decreased its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 8,293 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 648 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $3,986,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. AGF Management Ltd. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 215,468 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $103,563,000 after buying an additional 1,009 shares in the last quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.4% in the second quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. now owns 3,711 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,783,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Provident Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Provident Investment Management Inc. now owns 85,112 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $40,908,000 after purchasing an additional 3,221 shares during the last quarter. Spotlight Asset Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 54.2% during the 2nd quarter. Spotlight Asset Group Inc. now owns 782 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kerntke Otto McGlone Wealth Management Group raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.8% in the second quarter. Kerntke Otto McGlone Wealth Management Group now owns 761 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $366,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. 85.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 4,498 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.28, for a total value of $2,448,171.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,017,173.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Stephen J. Hemsley sold 121,515 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $540.58, for a total value of $65,688,578.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 521,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $282,084,374.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 4,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.28, for a total transaction of $2,448,171.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,017,173.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $572.00 to $596.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 16th. StockNews.com cut UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 21st. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $584.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 16th. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, September 6th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $540.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $527.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $578.30.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.4 %

UNH traded down $2.40 on Monday, reaching $538.81. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 252,645 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,303,777. The business’s 50 day moving average is $513.54 and its 200 day moving average is $496.83. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $445.68 and a 1 year high of $553.00. The stock has a market cap of $498.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 13th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.33 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $92.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $91.41 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 26.58%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.79 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 24.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 12th. Investors of record on Monday, December 4th will be given a dividend of $1.88 per share. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 1st. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.64%.

About UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a diversified health care company in the United States. It 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.