UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Lafayette Investments Inc.

Lafayette Investments Inc. lessened its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,075 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 20 shares during the period. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $566,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kellett Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Kellett Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,860 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $979,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 617 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Echo45 Advisors LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Echo45 Advisors LLC now owns 885 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $466,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 30.3% in the fourth quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,169 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,774,000 after acquiring an additional 1,669 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 201,906 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $106,297,000 after acquiring an additional 8,226 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on UNH. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $570.05.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH traded up $8.30 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $501.48. 2,086,260 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,491,010. The firm has a market capitalization of $462.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $554.70. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $488.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $515.22.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.26 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.74 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $1.88 per share. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 45.97%.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.