Prudential PLC Decreases Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Prudential PLC cut its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 3,501 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $33,850,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of UNH. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at $57,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on UNH shares. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Stephens lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $595.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $629.32.

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UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH traded down $15.50 during trading on Friday, hitting $524.94. The company had a trading volume of 9,914,705 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,261,985. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $509.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $542.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $480.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during 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 company'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 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 54.19%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.