Leuthold Group LLC Trims Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Leuthold Group LLC lowered its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 30.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,547 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 7,612 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 1.0% of Leuthold Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Leuthold Group LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $8,936,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Macroview Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% in the 2nd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 40.0% in the second quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on UNH. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $614.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $580.32 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $574.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $519.42. The company has a market capitalization of $535.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $607.94.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. The business had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $98.73 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 51.34%.

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.