Puzo Michael J Decreases Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Puzo Michael J cut its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,833 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 804 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 2.2% of Puzo Michael J's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Puzo Michael J's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $8,009,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,540,102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $26,626,387,000 after buying an additional 563,554 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $10,068,869,000 after acquiring an additional 319,515 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $6,375,744,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,514,178,000 after purchasing an additional 861,854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,931,478 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,012,218,000 after acquiring an additional 36,394 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of UNH traded down $15.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $524.94. The stock had a trading volume of 9,914,705 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,256,040. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $509.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $542.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $480.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. UnitedHealth Group's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.83 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented 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. HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $595.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Oppenheimer upped 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. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price 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.