Washington Trust Advisors Inc. Lowers Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 16.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,110 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 225 shares during the quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Keebeck Wealth Management LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 11.6% in the second quarter. Keebeck Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,788 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,122 shares in the last quarter. Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth $207,000. Bartlett & Co. LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bartlett & Co. LLC now owns 164,353 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $82,865,000 after purchasing an additional 8,873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 34,297 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $17,292,000 after buying an additional 1,884 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value 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 approximately $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the 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 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. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Barclays began coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $551.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $610.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, November 30th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $610.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $579.33.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH traded up $0.74 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $493.84. 1,768,427 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,063,109. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $445.68 and a 12 month high of $554.70. The firm has a market cap of $455.29 billion, a PE ratio of 20.71, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $503.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $518.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 12th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.98 by $0.18. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.39% and a net margin of 6.02%. The firm had revenue of $94.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.34 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $1.88 per share. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.54%.

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.