Legal & General Group Plc Sells 507,432 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 5.8% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,299,155 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 507,432 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises 0.9% of Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $4,226,425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of UNH. Aveo Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,164 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,139,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,273 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,250,000 after buying an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 80.9% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 6,220 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,275,000 after acquiring an additional 2,782 shares in the last quarter. Lcnb Corp grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Lcnb Corp now owns 480 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 24.8% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $813,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of UNH opened at $575.02 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $579.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $523.25. The company has a market cap of $530.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $607.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. The business had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.14 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 51.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on UNH shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $614.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.