Middleton & Co. Inc. MA Cuts Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA trimmed its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,986 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 829 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 1.7% of Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $14,134,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 176.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 44,249 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $22,384,000 after acquiring an additional 28,231 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,324 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 263,655 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $133,373,000 after buying an additional 9,872 shares during the last quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 42.2% during the fourth quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC now owns 2,076 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,050,000 after acquiring an additional 616 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. HSBC reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and issued a $270.00 target price (down from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Erste Group Bank downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $360.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $371.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 203,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. The trade was a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kristen Gil bought 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 3,818 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,327.06. This trade represents a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $240.94 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $234.60 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.44, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.43. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $295.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $412.81.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.45 by ($0.37). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The firm had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 38.30%.

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.