UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lessened its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 925,789 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 10,633 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises 0.9% of DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $474,990,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective (down from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Piper Sandler decreased 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. Mizuho decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $405.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Finally, TD Securities restated a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 price target (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $415.57.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNH traded up $1.06 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $304.77. The stock had a trading volume of 1,370,823 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,057,072. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $276.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.45. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $248.88 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $322.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $445.65.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the previous year, the business earned $6.91 EPS. On average, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.02%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kristen Gil acquired 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $271.17 per share, with a total value of $1,003,329.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 3,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. This represents a 3,135.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.