Trust Co. of Vermont Purchases 3,268 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Trust Co. of Vermont increased its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,993 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 3,268 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up 1.0% of Trust Co. of Vermont's portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Trust Co. of Vermont's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $19,725,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 69,016 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $34,912,000 after acquiring an additional 2,272 shares during the period. Howard Financial Services LTD. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 408 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 36.9% during the fourth quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 2,052 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,038,000 after buying an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 462,100 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $233,758,000 after acquiring an additional 90,585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DB Fitzpatrick & Co Inc acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $839,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of UNH stock traded down $0.56 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $510.03. 7,462,712 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,104,531. The business has a 50 day moving average of $549.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $563.18. The company has a market capitalization of $469.37 billion, a PE ratio of 33.23, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73.

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 the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.83 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on UNH. StockNews.com lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and set a $650.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $595.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $627.74.

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.