UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Alta Capital Management LLC

Alta Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 114,383 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 3,254 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 3.4% of Alta Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Alta Capital Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $57,862,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,223,331 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,148,134,000 after acquiring an additional 182,361 shares during the period. Tacita Capital Inc lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 166.7% during the 4th quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 112 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. HFR Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. HFR Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,140 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $577,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. WMG Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $585,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 121,738 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $61,583,000 after buying an additional 1,906 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH opened at $467.21 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $429.97 billion, a PE ratio of 30.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $515.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $556.09.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.83 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 54.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Stephens raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Hsbc Global Res raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.