UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Stock Position Cut by Westpac Banking Corp

Westpac Banking Corp reduced its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 35.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,593 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 11,794 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 0.7% of Westpac Banking Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $10,923,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UNH. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, DecisionPoint Financial LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 155.0% during the fourth quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $523.61 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $478.95 billion, a PE ratio of 33.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $509.15 and its 200 day moving average is $542.83. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Twenty equities 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 data from MarketBeat, 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.