UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Nixon Peabody Trust Co.

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. lessened its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 46.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 400 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 350 shares during the quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $202,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. DecisionPoint Financial LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 155.0% in the 4th quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth $57,000. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 863.6% in the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 106 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE:UNH opened at $474.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $516.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $557.16. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $630.73. The company has a market capitalization of $437.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.83 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on UNH. Stephens increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $629.32.

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.