HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Sells 5,567 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lessened its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 17.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 25,915 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 5,567 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises 0.8% of HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $13,672,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $341,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,778,636 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,039,933,000 after acquiring an additional 180,479 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $4,522,000. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 3,476 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,032,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bellevue Group AG increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 225,550 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $131,875,000 after buying an additional 19,875 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $515.47 on Monday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $508.81 and a 200 day moving average of $543.92. The company has a market capitalization of $471.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 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.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.83 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on UNH. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stephens increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $629.32.

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.