Vulcan Value Partners LLC Sells 11,771 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Vulcan Value Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 6.6% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 167,470 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 11,771 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 1.3% of Vulcan Value Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Vulcan Value Partners LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $85,117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,405,255 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,755,280,000 after acquiring an additional 544,740 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,062,928 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $12,893,331,000 after purchasing an additional 94,641 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised 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 during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,860,985 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,244,158,000 after buying an additional 542,424 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,039,601 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,094,247,000 after acquiring an additional 35,533 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on UNH shares. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $614.17.

Insider Activity

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

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $581.85 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $579.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $523.89. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-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. The stock has a market capitalization of $537.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.58.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.34%.

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.