UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp lowered its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.8% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 467,687 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 8,598 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 0.9% of Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $244,951,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Norges Bank acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $6,375,744,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,295,153 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,344,586,000 after purchasing an additional 8,280,404 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $1,914,740,000. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 97.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 6,069,100 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,183,132,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,592,718 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,346,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,301,010 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 2.3%

NYSE:UNH opened at $310.70 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $281.85 billion, a PE ratio of 20.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $395.60 and a 200-day moving average of $478.20. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $248.88 and a 52 week 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.

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

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $2.21 dividend. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 37.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Hsbc Global Res cut UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Piper Sandler cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $552.00 to $353.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $426.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $288.57 per share, with a total value of $25,019,019.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 679,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John F. Rex purchased 17,175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 203,796 shares in the company, valued at $59,329,091.52. This represents a 9.20% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last three months. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.