UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. cut its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 37.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 128,755 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 75,956 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $65,570,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% in the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,932 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,623,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. TradeLink Capital LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $713,000. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 33.6% in the second quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 15,004 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,641,000 after purchasing an additional 3,777 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 931,194 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $454,963,000 after purchasing an additional 5,405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 14.2% in the second quarter. Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC now owns 1,207 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $615,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:UNH opened at $593.99 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $569.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $517.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $548.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.31, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $607.94.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $98.73 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.14 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at $4,507,748.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UNH. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Argus increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $614.17.

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.