Missouri Trust & Investment Co Buys 340 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Missouri Trust & Investment Co boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 8.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,204 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 340 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 0.8% of Missouri Trust & Investment Co’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Missouri Trust & Investment Co’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Norges Bank purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $6,375,744,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,295,153 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,344,586,000 after buying an additional 8,280,404 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,914,740,000. Amundi raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 97.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 6,069,100 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,183,132,000 after acquiring an additional 2,991,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,592,718 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,346,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,301,010 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on UNH. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $552.00 to $353.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Erste Group Bank cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Argus lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $360.00 target price (down from $580.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $426.52.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $313.39 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $284.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.22, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.45. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $386.66 and a 200 day moving average of $473.26. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $248.88 and a one year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kristen Gil acquired 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. This represents a 3,135.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders bought 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

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.