UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Artemis Investment Management LLP

Artemis Investment Management LLP trimmed its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 27.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,044 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 9,370 shares during the quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $12,383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bell Investment Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 525 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.2% during the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 35,946 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $17,783,000 after buying an additional 1,129 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,941 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,919,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the period. Austin Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,246 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $573,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, Bellecapital International Ltd. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 13,823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,277,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $675.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $579.74.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 4.8 %

Shares of UNH opened at $509.58 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $554.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $498.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $502.27. The stock has a market cap of $469.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.57 EPS 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 dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.