Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 18,510 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,152,897 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 18,510 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up 1.1% of Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.12% of UnitedHealth Group worth $606,863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UNH. Secure Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the third quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 2,456 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,238,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,217 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $614,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Bensler LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% during the third quarter. Bensler LLC now owns 7,293 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,677,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.1% during the third quarter. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX now owns 1,695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $855,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tealwood Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,988 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,626,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded up $1.49 during trading on Friday, hitting $495.35. 2,727,016 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,623,667. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $554.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $485.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $514.21. The company has a market cap of $455.76 billion, a PE ratio of 30.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.54.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted 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. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.26 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

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

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.