Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Has $147.78 Million Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lessened its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 280,707 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 3,429 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $147,784,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 53,573.1% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,352,490 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,238,515,000 after acquiring an additional 2,348,107 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 49.3% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,617,813 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,904,670,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195,352 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 75.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,011,150 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,014,002,000 after acquiring an additional 862,024 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 35.9% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,090,986 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,627,311,000 after acquiring an additional 815,822 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,725,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,879,245,000 after purchasing an additional 623,631 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $495.35 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $554.70. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $485.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $514.21. The firm has a market cap of $455.76 billion, a PE ratio of 30.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 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 (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. The company 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%. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.26 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $1.88 dividend. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 45.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other 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 transaction of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on UNH shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $605.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $570.05.

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.