North Ridge Wealth Advisors Inc. Sells 56 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

North Ridge Wealth Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,274 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 56 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 1.0% of North Ridge Wealth Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. North Ridge Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,197,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UNH. Keebeck Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. Keebeck Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,788 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $5,185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares during the period. Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $216,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $207,000. Bartlett & Co. LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bartlett & Co. LLC now owns 164,353 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $82,865,000 after purchasing an additional 8,873 shares during the period. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $494.70 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $503.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $518.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $456.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.54. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $445.68 and a 52-week high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.98 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $94.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.13 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 26.39%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.34 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $1.88 per share. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $596.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $610.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $610.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, November 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $579.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $451,127.82. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.