Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Sells 113 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. decreased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 41,891 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 113 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up 1.0% of Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $22,054,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,941 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $8,919,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $216,000. Bellecapital International Ltd. increased its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 34,297 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $17,292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 326.0% during the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 213 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $610.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $570.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE UNH traded up $3.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $497.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,319,782 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,489,708. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $554.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $457.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.18, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $486.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $514.42.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 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.