Marquette Asset Management LLC Sells 71 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Marquette Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,330 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 71 shares during the period. Marquette Asset Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,941 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $8,919,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth $216,000. Bellecapital International Ltd. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 13,823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,277,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 5.8% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 34,297 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $17,292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 326.0% during the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 213 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of UNH stock traded up $1.49 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $495.35. 2,727,016 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,623,667. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $485.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $514.14. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $554.70. The stock has a market cap of $455.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.28, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $1.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 45.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $570.05.

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.