PGGM Investments Sells 8,470 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

PGGM Investments cut its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 24.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,796 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 8,470 shares during the period. PGGM Investments’ holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $14,107,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,941 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,919,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at $216,000. Bellecapital International Ltd. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 13,823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,277,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 5.8% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 34,297 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $17,292,000 after acquiring an additional 1,884 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 326.0% in the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 213 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $570.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH traded up $1.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $495.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,727,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,623,667. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $554.70. The stock has a market cap of $455.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.28, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $485.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $514.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 45.97%.

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.