UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank decreased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 0.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,595,561 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 13,100 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 1.0% of Swiss National Bank's holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.29% of UnitedHealth Group worth $1,359,425,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. AlphaCore Capital LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 652.2% during the 1st quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 4,867 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $2,549,000 after buying an additional 4,220 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,059,712 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,602,520,000 after purchasing an additional 319,640 shares in the last quarter. Alesco Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Alesco Advisors LLC now owns 562 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Keb Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,013,000. Finally, Waycross Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 21.6% in the 1st quarter. Waycross Partners LLC now owns 33,795 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $17,700,000 after purchasing an additional 6,001 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO John F. Rex bought 17,175 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $291.12 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,986.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 203,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,329,091.52. The trade was a 9.20% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on UNH. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $355.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $360.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Robert W. Baird reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $198.00 price target (down previously from $312.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Argus lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $366.52.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $244.42 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $234.60 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The company has a market cap of $221.72 billion, a PE ratio of 10.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.43. 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 has a fifty day moving average price of $292.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $408.71.

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

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $2.21 dividend. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is 38.30%.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.