HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 17.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 25,915 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 5,567 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 0.8% of HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $13,672,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $6,375,744,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,914,740,000. Amundi increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 97.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 6,069,100 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,183,132,000 after acquiring an additional 2,991,470 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 76,830.4% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,888,641 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $955,388,000 after purchasing an additional 1,886,186 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,514,178,000 after purchasing an additional 861,854 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $515.47 on Monday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year 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 firm has a market cap of $471.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.26, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $508.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $543.92.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with 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.