Securian Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Securian Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,462 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 1,611 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises 0.7% of Securian Asset Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Securian Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $25,021,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $341,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,778,636 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,039,933,000 after buying an additional 180,479 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 480 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 19.5% in the third quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,628 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,706,000 after purchasing an additional 754 shares during the period. Finally, Vantage Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.6% in the third quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 154,130 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $90,117,000 after purchasing an additional 3,909 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of UNH opened at $486.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $512.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $552.00. 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 $445.04 billion, a PE ratio of 31.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73.

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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, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion during 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%. UnitedHealth Group's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.83 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is 54.19%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. HSBC upgraded 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. Barclays decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Stephens raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $629.32.

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.

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