UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Holdings Reduced by Smithfield Trust Co

Smithfield Trust Co trimmed its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 17.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,382 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,118 shares during the quarter. Smithfield Trust Co’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,737,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jmac Enterprises LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the third quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Wallace Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wallace Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,119 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,239,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 902 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $456,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. JNBA Financial Advisors lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the third quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 4,686 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,740,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Paragon Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Paragon Capital Management LLC now owns 721 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler dropped 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. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE UNH opened at $474.58 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $436.74 billion, a PE ratio of 30.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year 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. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $515.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $555.37.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.83 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.19%.

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.