Independence Bank of Kentucky Sells 2,365 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Independence Bank of Kentucky cut its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 22.2% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,310 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,365 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $4,352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kristen Gil acquired 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. This trade represents a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John F. Rex bought 17,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 203,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. This represents a 9.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 price objective (down previously from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, May 19th. Bank of America downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $560.00 to $350.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $360.00 price objective (down from $580.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, May 19th. TD Cowen lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $510.00 to $356.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $428.43.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $303.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $409.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $484.21. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $248.88 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $275.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.44.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.91 EPS. Analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $2.21 per share. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.02%.

UnitedHealth Group 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.