Mechanics Bank Trust Department Purchases 575 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Mechanics Bank Trust Department raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 6.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,653 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 575 shares during the period. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $4,775,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 148.1% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 67 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $579.74.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $484.60 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $498.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $502.75. The company has a market cap of $446.02 billion, a PE ratio of 29.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.26 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th were given a $2.10 dividend. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 17th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 51.34%.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.