IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Sells 1,121 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd lowered its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 14,179 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,121 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up 0.8% of IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $7,173,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 220,590 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $128,975,000 after purchasing an additional 26,074 shares during the period. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,957 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,025,000 after buying an additional 1,193 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,275.3% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 44,547 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $26,060,000 after acquiring an additional 41,308 shares during the period. Parsifal Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $21,165,000. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 9,115 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,611,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on UNH. Stephens increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Piper Sandler dropped 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $518.10 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $473.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The business’s 50-day moving average is $508.60 and its 200-day moving average is $545.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.83 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.19%.

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.