Columbia Asset Management Sells 119 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Columbia Asset Management trimmed its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 14.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 724 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 119 shares during the period. Columbia Asset Management’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $381,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 340.0% during the 3rd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 66 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 148.1% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 67 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, O Brien Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 36.8% during the 4th quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 78 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the subject of several research reports. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.0 %

UNH traded up $5.20 on Tuesday, hitting $522.43. 983,593 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,200,304. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $554.70. The company has a market cap of $480.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $486.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $511.04.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $1.88 dividend. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.97%.

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.