Cary Street Partners Financial LLC Has $3.66 Million Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• Cary Street Partners Financial LLC reduced its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 69.2% in the first quarter, selling 15,692 shares and leaving them with 6,996 shares valued at $3.66 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase from $2.10 to $2.21 per share, representing an annualized $8.84 dividend with a yield of 3.5%.
• Analysts have a mixed outlook on the stock, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $371.67, while some analysts have reduced their price targets significantly.

Cary Street Partners Financial LLC decreased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 69.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,996 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 15,692 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $3,664,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 685.7% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on UNH. Wolfe Research reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $360.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $366.52.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 2.5%

UNH stock traded up $6.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $250.74. 10,146,688 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,404,546. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $227.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.43. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $291.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $406.82. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $234.60 and a 1-year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.45 by ($0.37). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 5.04%. The company had revenue of $111.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.80 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $2.21 per share. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.30%.

Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CFO John F. Rex bought 17,175 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 203,796 shares in the company, valued at $59,329,091.52. The trade was a 9.20% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company 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.