UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Sold by Horizon Investment Services LLC

Horizon Investment Services LLC cut its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,800 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 410 shares during the period. Horizon Investment Services LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,922,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, DecisionPoint Financial LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 155.0% in the fourth quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $515.47 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $508.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $544.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $471.51 billion, a PE ratio of 33.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.83 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on UNH shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

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.