Advisors Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Advisors Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,625 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 1,562 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $47,361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $10,068,869,000 after purchasing an additional 319,515 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $6,375,744,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,514,178,000 after purchasing an additional 861,854 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 36,394 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.0% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 182,361 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Remove Ads

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock traded down $3.63 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $583.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,865,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,340,638. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $533.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.64, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $438.50 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $513.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $541.83.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on UNH shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $632.85.

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.