Swiss National Bank Reduces Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Swiss National Bank decreased its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,608,661 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 123,300 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 0.9% of Swiss National Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Swiss National Bank owned 0.28% of UnitedHealth Group worth $1,319,617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at about $341,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,778,636 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,039,933,000 after acquiring an additional 180,479 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 6,599 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,858,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 32.3% during the third quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 941 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $550,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. Finally, First Heartland Consultants Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. now owns 1,166 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $682,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on UNH shares. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Stephens increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $629.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:UNH opened at $481.18 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $512.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $551.50. The company has a market capitalization of $440.14 billion, a PE ratio of 31.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.83 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

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.