Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Lowers Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. lowered its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 17.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,530 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,537 shares during the quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $3,964,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Robbins Farley purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 340.0% during the third quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 66 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 148.1% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 67 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $605.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded up $6.58 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $493.88. The stock had a trading volume of 4,329,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,530,458. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $486.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $514.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $454.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.19, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.54. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business 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 company posted $6.26 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $1.88 dividend. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.