Merit Financial Group LLC Sells 1,240 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Merit Financial Group LLC decreased its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 12.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 9,078 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,240 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $4,780,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,941 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $8,919,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the period. Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $216,000. Bellecapital International Ltd. grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 13,823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,277,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 326.0% during the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 213 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded down $0.52 on Friday, hitting $492.45. The stock had a trading volume of 2,487,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,130,659. The stock has a market cap of $453.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.10, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $483.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $513.07. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $554.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $1.88 per share. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on UNH shares. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.