UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Polen Capital Management LLC

Polen Capital Management LLC decreased its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 43.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,125,593 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 870,829 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 1.5% of Polen Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Polen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $569,392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV now owns 2,484 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,335,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $177,000. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 45.6% in the fourth quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA now owns 18,793 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $9,507,000 after purchasing an additional 5,890 shares during the last quarter. Signature Wealth Management Group increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Signature Wealth Management Group now owns 3,724 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,884,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SlateStone Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 10,583 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $5,354,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on UNH shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $488.52 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $446.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $630.73. The business has a fifty day moving average of $511.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $549.80.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.83 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.19%.

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.