UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Westpac Banking Corp

Westpac Banking Corp cut its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 35.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,593 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 11,794 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up 0.7% of Westpac Banking Corp's holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $10,923,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Howard Capital Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at $341,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 11.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 180,479 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth about $319,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.9% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 23,828 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $13,932,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 41,606 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $24,269,000 after buying an additional 1,449 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of 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, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $700.00 target price 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH traded up $17.67 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $540.87. 6,454,806 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,243,146. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $509.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $542.82. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $494.74 billion, a PE ratio of 34.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The business 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 business's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.83 earnings per share. On average, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 54.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.