New England Research & Management Inc. Sells 5,037 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

New England Research & Management Inc. lessened its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 87.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 723 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 5,037 shares during the quarter. New England Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of UNH. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,405,255 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $41,755,280,000 after acquiring an additional 544,740 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,062,928 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $12,893,331,000 after acquiring an additional 94,641 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,039,601 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,094,247,000 after acquiring an additional 35,533 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,942,956,000 after acquiring an additional 880,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,772,487 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,920,039,000 after buying an additional 21,149 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH stock traded down $7.62 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $583.58. 2,590,610 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,958,113. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $582.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $527.84. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $607.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $537.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.58.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. HSBC raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $481.00 to $647.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $614.17.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other UnitedHealth Group news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.