Rep. Rick Larsen Sells Off UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Stock

Representative Rick Larsen (D-Washington) recently sold shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH). In a filing disclosed on January 14th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in UnitedHealth Group stock on January 7th.

Representative Rick Larsen also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) on 1/7/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE:BAH) on 1/7/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) on 1/7/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) on 1/7/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) on 1/7/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) on 1/7/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) on 1/7/2025.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $543.21 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $554.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $563.12. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $499.91 billion, a PE ratio of 35.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.83 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $626.79.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,540,102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $26,626,387,000 after buying an additional 563,554 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,636,704 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,440,133,000 after purchasing an additional 318,039 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,061,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,884,019,000 after purchasing an additional 193,800 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,096,896,000 after purchasing an additional 5,290,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,942,956,000 after buying an additional 880,183 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

About Representative Larsen

Rick Larsen (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Washington’s 2nd Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2001. His current term ends on January 3, 2025. Larsen (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Washington’s 2nd Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the primary scheduled on August 6, 2024. Since at least 2011, Larsen has been assigned to the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Larsen’s first position as an elected official was in 1998 as a member of the Snohomish County Council. Larsen earned his bachelor’s degree from Pacific Lutheran University. After earning his master’s degree in public affairs from the University of Minnesota, Larsen worked as the director of public affairs for the Washington State Dental Association and then as an economic development official with the Port of Everett. He went on to serve on the Snohomish County Council before seeking election to the U.S. House.

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.