Cetera Investment Advisers Sells 14,526 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Cetera Investment Advisers lessened its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 225,135 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 14,526 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $114,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter valued at $1,117,462,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 107.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,306,729 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,141,113,000 after buying an additional 1,196,758 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $480,903,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% during the second 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, Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,125.4% in the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 894,006 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $455,281,000 after purchasing an additional 821,050 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares in the company, valued at $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at $4,507,748.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on UNH shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, September 16th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, HSBC upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $584.68 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $579.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $525.06. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $607.94. The company has a market capitalization of $539.91 billion, a PE ratio of 35.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. 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 currently 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.