MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. Sells 88 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,588 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 88 shares during the period. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,815,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of UNH. Capital & Planning LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 491 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 50,557 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,575,000 after buying an additional 1,233 shares during the period. Gemmer Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Gemmer Asset Management LLC now owns 742 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $375,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthquest Corp lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 470 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $238,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.9%

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $321.76 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $291.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $464.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $510.17. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $248.88 and a 1-year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.91 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.18%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on UNH. Argus lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $490.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $677.00 to $351.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $510.00 to $356.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $513.00 to $362.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $451.43.

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.