Eastern Bank Has $78.40 Million Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• Eastern Bank has reduced its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 6.6%, now owning 149,691 shares worth approximately $78.4 million, making it the fund's 18th largest investment.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $389.90 for UnitedHealth Group, with a current rating of "Moderate Buy," following recent price adjustments from various brokerages.
• UnitedHealth Group recently increased its quarterly dividend to $2.21, representing an annualized payment of $8.84 and a dividend yield of 3.39%.

Eastern Bank lowered its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 6.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 149,691 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 10,566 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises about 1.5% of Eastern Bank's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Eastern Bank's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $78,401,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $10,068,869,000 after acquiring an additional 319,515 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $7,899,905,000 after acquiring an additional 906,365 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,807,527,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058,488 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,592,718 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,346,712,000 after buying an additional 2,301,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,295,153 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,344,586,000 after buying an additional 8,280,404 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on UNH shares. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $353.00 to $317.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. KeyCorp lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Argus cut UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. HSBC reaffirmed a "reduce" rating and issued a $270.00 target price (down from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, TD Cowen cut UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $308.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $378.95.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,033 shares in the company, valued at $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,390. This represents a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $5.36 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $266.43. 22,302,965 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,886,933. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $298.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $420.36. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $248.88 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $241.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.45.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.16 by ($1.08). The business had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.75 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. UnitedHealth Group's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.80 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

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.