Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Decreases Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lessened its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 297,263 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 16,164 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 1.1% of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $150,373,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 220,590 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $128,975,000 after purchasing an additional 26,074 shares in the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,957 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,025,000 after acquiring an additional 1,193 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1,275.3% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 44,547 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $26,060,000 after acquiring an additional 41,308 shares during the last quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $21,165,000. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 9,115 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,611,000 after buying an additional 1,051 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNH traded up $10.98 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $527.02. 2,887,666 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,758,233. The stock has a market capitalization of $482.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $508.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $543.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.83 EPS. UnitedHealth Group's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.19%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $629.32.

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.