UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Pathstone Holdings LLC

Pathstone Holdings LLC cut its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 148,151 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after selling 5,335 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $74,946,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 902 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,578 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,304,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 575 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,654,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,527 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,278,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 6.2%

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $16.89 during trading on Friday, reaching $291.24. 70,463,502 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,862,879. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market cap of $264.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The stock's fifty day moving average is $474.72 and its 200 day moving average is $515.82. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $248.88 and a 1 year high of $630.73.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is 35.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $660.00 to $580.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $677.00 to $351.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $560.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $486.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley bought 86,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 679,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO John F. Rex purchased 17,175 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $291.12 per share, with a total value of $4,999,986.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 203,796 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders have bought a total of 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768 in the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by 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.