2,174 Shares in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Bought by Ames National Corp

Ames National Corp purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,174 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $1,100,000. UnitedHealth Group comprises about 0.7% of Ames National Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $560.00 to $350.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $510.00 to $356.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wolfe Research dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $360.00 price objective (down previously from $580.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $451.43.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of UNH stock opened at $321.76 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $248.88 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $464.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $510.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $291.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.91 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is 35.18%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John H. Noseworthy bought 300 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $312.16 per share, for a total transaction of $93,648.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,063 shares in the company, valued at $1,892,626.08. This represents a 5.21% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.

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