LGT Capital Partners LTD. Reduces Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

LGT Capital Partners LTD. reduced its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 36.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 158,115 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 90,386 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises about 2.5% of LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $83,243,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of UNH. Robbins Farley purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth $25,000. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 340.0% in the third quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 66 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter worth $35,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on UNH. Barclays initiated coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $551.00 price target for the company. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $605.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $610.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $610.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, November 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $579.33.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.3 %

UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $1.60 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $494.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,805,551 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,097,774. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $445.68 and a 52-week high of $554.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $503.10 and its 200 day moving average is $518.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $456.08 billion, a PE ratio of 20.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.54.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.98 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $94.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.13 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.39% and a net margin of 6.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.34 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.82 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $1.88 dividend. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.54%.

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.