Sabal Trust CO Acquires 326 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Sabal Trust CO increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 62,252 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 1.8% of Sabal Trust CO’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Sabal Trust CO’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $32,604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.1%

UNH stock opened at $302.19 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $342.22 and a 200-day moving average of $458.07. The company has a market cap of $274.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.65, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.44. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $248.88 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued 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 5.39% and a return on equity of 26.29%. The business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.91 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 37.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on UNH. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 target price (down from $580.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $400.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Baird R W lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $415.57.

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.