UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Position Lessened by Cooke & Bieler LP

Cooke & Bieler LP trimmed its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 31.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,000 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 900 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,053,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UNH. Robbins Farley acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 340.0% during the third quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 66 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 148.1% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 67 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of UNH stock traded up $7.95 on Friday, hitting $501.13. The stock had a trading volume of 6,618,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,233,813. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $554.70. The firm has a market cap of $462.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.64, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $488.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $515.13.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.26 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.97%.

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.