Massachusetts Wealth Management Trims Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Massachusetts Wealth Management lowered its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 10.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 407 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $213,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Capital & Planning LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 491 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 176.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 44,249 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $22,384,000 after purchasing an additional 28,231 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $27,233,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 137.1% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,324 shares during the period. Finally, Vicus Capital grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 541 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of UNH stock opened at $313.39 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $284.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.22, a PEG 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $386.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $473.26.

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 the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 10,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,390. This trade represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,035,327.06. This trade represents a 3,135.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on UNH shares. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 price target (down from $580.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. HSBC reissued a “reduce” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective (down from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Bank of America cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $552.00 to $353.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Baird R W cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $426.52.

UnitedHealth Group 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.