Legal & General Group Plc Sells 2,251,253 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Legal & General Group Plc cut its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 27.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,006,960 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 2,251,253 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 0.8% of Legal & General Group Plc's holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.65% of UnitedHealth Group worth $3,038,681,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 220,590 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $128,975,000 after acquiring an additional 26,074 shares during the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,957 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,025,000 after purchasing an additional 1,193 shares during the period. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 9,115 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,611,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051 shares during the period. Waycross Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Waycross Partners LLC now owns 27,794 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $14,060,000 after purchasing an additional 658 shares during the period. Finally, Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth $558,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on UNH shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Barclays cut their price target on 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, KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $650.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Twenty equities research 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $629.32.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought 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 owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of UNH opened at $524.94 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $480.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $509.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $541.85. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.19%.

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.

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