Ninety One North America Inc. Trims Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Ninety One North America Inc. decreased its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,020 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 395 shares during the period. Ninety One North America Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,528,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 41,970 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $21,231,000 after purchasing an additional 4,590 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 5,319 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,691,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 1,004 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $508,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. Rockline Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Rockline Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,305 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,225,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cullinan Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 18,498 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $9,357,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.3 %

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $546.81 on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $536.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $565.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $503.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.61.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on UNH shares. Bank of America reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group 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.