Community Bank N.A. Decreases Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Community Bank N.A. lowered its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,628 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 167 shares during the quarter. Community Bank N.A.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $4,542,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of UNH. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 53,573.1% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,352,490 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,238,515,000 after acquiring an additional 2,348,107 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 49.3% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,617,813 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,904,670,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195,352 shares during the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 75.0% during the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,011,150 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,014,002,000 after acquiring an additional 862,024 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 35.9% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,090,986 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,627,311,000 after acquiring an additional 815,822 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 20.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,725,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,879,245,000 after acquiring an additional 623,631 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $570.05.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was 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 $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $1.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $487.30. 3,722,296 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,532,990. The stock has a market cap of $449.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.79, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.54. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $554.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $486.90 and its 200-day moving average is $514.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $1.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 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.