Philadelphia Trust Co. Cuts Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Philadelphia Trust Co. lessened its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 24.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 720 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 231 shares during the period. Philadelphia Trust Co.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $364,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $10,068,869,000 after acquiring an additional 319,515 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $6,375,744,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,514,178,000 after buying an additional 861,854 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,931,478 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,012,218,000 after acquiring an additional 36,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,223,331 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,148,134,000 after purchasing an additional 182,361 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $599.10 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $512.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $542.03. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $548.00 billion, a PE ratio of 38.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on UNH. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $632.85.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.