UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Hilltop National Bank

Hilltop National Bank cut its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,716 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 29 shares during the quarter. Hilltop National Bank’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,139 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the period. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 26,283 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $13,296,000 after purchasing an additional 2,137 shares during the period. Michael S. Ryan Inc. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Michael S. Ryan Inc. now owns 827 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. now owns 10,268 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $5,194,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 13,777 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,969,000 after acquiring an additional 2,339 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $5.78 during trading on Friday, hitting $530.30. 2,043,233 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,608,044. The company has a market cap of $488.03 billion, a PE ratio of 34.55, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $556.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $561.20.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.56 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on UNH shares. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $626.79.

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.