Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 15.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 619 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 115 shares during the quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $313,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. APG Asset Management US Inc. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.3% in the second quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. now owns 351,983 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $174,108,000 after acquiring an additional 17,747 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,772,487 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,920,039,000 after acquiring an additional 21,149 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9.2% in the second quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 198,670 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $101,175,000 after acquiring an additional 16,800 shares during the period. Eminence Capital LP bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter worth about $26,657,000. Finally, Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter worth about $1,062,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $528.94 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $486.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.12, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $543.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $563.78. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.83 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.75 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on UNH. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $627.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.