Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Lowers Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD trimmed its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,401,754 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 3,621,799 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 1.2% of Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $10,826,292,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on UNH. Argus cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Erste Group Bank upgraded UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $660.00 to $580.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $650.00 to $575.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $608.00.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $427.10 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $390.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s fifty day moving average is $508.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $537.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $417.12 and a 1 year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.91 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.18%.

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.