UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Atwood & Palmer Inc.

Atwood & Palmer Inc. cut its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 28.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 556 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 219 shares during the period. Atwood & Palmer Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,224 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,165,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,654,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 28.6% during the first quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 90 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. 44 Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,309 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $662,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,527 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,278,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE UNH opened at $303.08 on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $248.88 and a one year high of $630.73. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $404.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $480.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $274.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.55, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83.

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

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 37.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John H. Noseworthy bought 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $312.16 per share, for a total transaction of $93,648.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 6,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,892,626.08. This represents a 5.21% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on UNH shares. Wolfe Research reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $308.00 price objective (down previously from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 price target (down from $580.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen 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 price target of $428.43.

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.