Sandhill Capital Partners LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Sandhill Capital Partners LLC trimmed its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 9.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,886 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 823 shares during the period. Sandhill Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $4,152,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,941 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,919,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Bellecapital International Ltd. boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 13,823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,277,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.8% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 34,297 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $17,292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 326.0% in the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 213 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on UNH shares. StockNews.com cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $570.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

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

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of UNH traded up $6.58 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $493.88. 4,329,383 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,530,458. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $486.90 and its 200-day moving average is $514.57. The company has a market cap of $454.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.54. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $554.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.85.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.26 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $1.88 dividend. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.97%.

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.