Welch & Forbes LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Welch & Forbes LLC decreased its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,769 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 245 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,511,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bray Capital Advisors grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Bray Capital Advisors now owns 9,616 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,848,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 3,528 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,779,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the period. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.9% in the third quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 105,860 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $53,374,000 after purchasing an additional 3,023 shares during the period. Vantage Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 84,324 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $42,515,000 after buying an additional 9,979 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Telemus Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Telemus Capital LLC now owns 19,338 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $9,750,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH stock traded up $6.58 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $500.96. The company had a trading volume of 3,395,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,378,167. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $481.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $511.98. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $554.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $460.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion for 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 firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.26 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on UNH. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $675.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $605.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. TD Cowen cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $570.05.

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.