Ninety One North America Inc. Reduces Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Ninety One North America Inc. lessened its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 11.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,020 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 395 shares during the period. Ninety One North America Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,528,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 132.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 65 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE UNH opened at $546.81 on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $536.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $565.20. The stock has a market cap of $503.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.61.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.63 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $629.32.

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.