Appleton Partners Inc. MA Has $22.01 Million Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA cut its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,646 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,026 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up approximately 1.6% of Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $22,011,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Macroview Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% in the 2nd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on UNH shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $601.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Truist Financial increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $592.30 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $546.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $607.94. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $581.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $526.18.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The business had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.14 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 51.34%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value 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 approximately $4,507,748.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.