Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC Trims Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 171,259 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 4,654 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 1.3% of Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $89,697,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,375,744,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,295,153 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,344,586,000 after acquiring an additional 8,280,404 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $1,914,740,000. Amundi boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 97.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 6,069,100 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,183,132,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,592,718 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,346,712,000 after buying an additional 2,301,010 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley acquired 86,700 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought 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. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of UNH opened at $302.43 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $339.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $456.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $274.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.44. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $248.88 and a one year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted 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 business had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 5.39%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.91 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $2.21 per share. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Hsbc Global Res lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 price objective (down previously from $580.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Bank of America downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $560.00 to $350.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $415.57.

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.