Walker Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Walker Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 46.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 813 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 697 shares during the period. Walker Asset Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 83,860,515 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $44,150,045,000 after acquiring an additional 250,291 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,220,234 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,715,790,000 after purchasing an additional 527,526 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,122,203 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,961,369,000 after buying an additional 324,733 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,860,985 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,244,158,000 after acquiring an additional 542,424 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $5,802,231,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $579.74.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of UNH stock opened at $483.16 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $554.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $497.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $504.26. The stock has a market cap of $444.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.26 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 51.34%.

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.