E&G Advisors LP Lowers Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

E&G Advisors LP cut its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,928 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 35 shares during the quarter. E&G Advisors LP’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,534,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $305.59 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $347.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $459.15. The stock has a market cap of $277.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $248.88 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 26.29%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.91 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CFO John F. Rex acquired 17,175 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 203,796 shares in the company, valued at $59,329,091.52. The trade was a 9.20% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kristen Gil bought 3,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,035,327.06. The trade was a 3,135.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Bank of America lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $360.00 price objective (down from $580.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $308.00 price objective (down previously from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, May 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $427.09.

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.