Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Decreases Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. cut its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,625 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 627 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 0.8% of Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $7,173,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,220,234 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,715,790,000 after buying an additional 527,526 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,787,768 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,934,895,000 after buying an additional 341,749 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,242,282 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,155,676,000 after acquiring an additional 180,331 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,843,207 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,937,976,000 after acquiring an additional 27,127 shares during the period. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.5% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 5,757,410 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,902,829,000 after acquiring an additional 352,710 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $605.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective 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, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNH traded down $4.86 on Tuesday, hitting $486.37. The stock had a trading volume of 3,645,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,543,351. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $554.70. The stock has a market cap of $448.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s 50-day moving average is $488.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $515.03. 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 (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the prior year, the business earned $6.26 EPS. On average, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.97%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.