UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Palouse Capital Management Inc.

Palouse Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,712 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 133 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 1.8% of Palouse Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Palouse Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,481,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UNH. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $210,000. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. now owns 744 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 31.8% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 250,196 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $127,592,000 after buying an additional 60,300 shares during the last quarter. MAS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. MAS Advisors LLC now owns 463 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Western Trust Bank acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter valued at $875,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on UNH shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $610.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $605.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE UNH traded up $8.11 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $501.29. 6,616,632 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,553,088. The stock has a market capitalization of $462.16 billion, a PE ratio of 30.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.54. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $554.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.85. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $488.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $515.13.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.26 EPS. Analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.74 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $1.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 45.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.