Bragg Financial Advisors Inc Cuts Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Bragg Financial Advisors Inc lessened its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,032 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 1,262 shares during the period. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $15,698,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on UNH. HSBC raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $595.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $632.85.

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UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNH traded down $3.63 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $583.43. 3,865,335 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,340,640. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $533.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $438.50 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The company has a 50-day moving average of $514.87 and a 200 day moving average of $542.12.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.83 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock, 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.