Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Sells 665 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 57,799 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 665 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises 1.5% of Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $28,593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its holdings 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. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 148.1% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 67 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $491.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $498.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $502.61. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $554.70. The firm has a market cap of $451.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.57 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Baird R W upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $580.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $579.74.

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.