UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Stock Holdings Increased by WASHINGTON TRUST Co

WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 23.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,465 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $771,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Robbins Farley purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at $25,000. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 340.0% during the third quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 66 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter worth $35,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of UNH traded up $0.60 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $493.70. 1,742,664 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,061,738. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $445.68 and a fifty-two week high of $554.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The business has a 50-day moving average of $503.73 and a 200-day moving average of $518.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $455.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.54.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.98 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $94.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.13 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 26.39%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.34 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.82 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $1.88 per share. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. HSBC restated a “reduce” rating and set a $480.00 price target (down from $550.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, December 18th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $610.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $596.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $605.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, February 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $579.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.