Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA Sells 1,625 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA decreased its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 82.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 344 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 1,625 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $180,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citizens National Bank Trust Department increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 17,886 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $9,368,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% during the first quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 530,103 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $277,641,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465 shares in the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $515,000. Full Sail Capital LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $815,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,413,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 2.1%

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $308.85 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $280.17 billion, a PE ratio of 12.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.45. The business's fifty day moving average is $336.21 and its 200 day moving average is $453.53. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $248.88 and a one year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 26.29%. The company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.91 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,035,327.06. This represents a 3,135.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on UNH shares. Wolfe Research cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Erste Group Bank lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $360.00 price objective (down previously from $580.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $415.57.

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.

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