CRA Financial Services LLC Sells 98 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

CRA Financial Services LLC trimmed its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,883 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 98 shares during the period. CRA Financial Services LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $10,068,869,000 after purchasing an additional 319,515 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,899,905,000 after purchasing an additional 906,365 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,375,744,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,807,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,514,178,000 after purchasing an additional 861,854 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.6%

NYSE:UNH opened at $313.39 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $284.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.45. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $248.88 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $386.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $474.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.91 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $2.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director John H. Noseworthy bought 300 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $312.16 per share, with a total value of $93,648.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,063 shares in the company, valued at $1,892,626.08. The trade was a 5.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 over the last 90 days. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Hsbc Global Res downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating and issued a $308.00 target price (down previously from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Bank of America downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $552.00 to $353.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $426.52.

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.