UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Meridian Financial LLC

Meridian Financial LLC cut its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 13.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 503 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 80 shares during the quarter. Meridian Financial LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,468 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,260,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the period. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 1,051 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $532,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Bowman & Co S.C. grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Bowman & Co S.C. now owns 3,936 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,997,000 after buying an additional 861 shares in the last quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 3,611 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,963,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kera Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $289,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $510.03 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $469.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $630.73. The business has a fifty day moving average of $549.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $562.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.65%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. UBS Group cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $627.74.

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.