Central Bank & Trust Co. Decreases Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Central Bank & Trust Co. trimmed its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 8.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,003 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,628 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 1.3% of Central Bank & Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $8,906,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of UNH. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 83,860,515 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $44,150,045,000 after buying an additional 250,291 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,220,234 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $12,715,790,000 after purchasing an additional 527,526 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings 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 valued at $7,961,369,000 after buying an additional 324,733 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,802,231,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded down $1.93 on Friday, hitting $482.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,775,974 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,529,067. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $554.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $497.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $503.94. The company has a market capitalization of $444.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.50, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.26 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on UNH. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Baird R W raised shares of UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Three 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, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $579.74.

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.