Swiss National Bank Trims Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Swiss National Bank cut its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,608,661 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 123,300 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up 0.9% of Swiss National Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,319,617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on UNH shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $481.18 on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market cap of $440.14 billion, a PE ratio of 31.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $512.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $551.50.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.19%.

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.