Essex Financial Services Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Essex Financial Services Inc. trimmed its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,633 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 395 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $6,125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bensler LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bensler LLC now owns 7,293 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,677,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.1% in 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 during the last quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,988 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,626,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors now owns 1,752 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $923,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,347 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. 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. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE UNH traded up $2.75 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $486.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,359,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,427,830. The firm has a market capitalization of $447.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $484.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $513.42. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $554.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict 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. Investors 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 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were 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 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 is available through this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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.

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.