Palouse Capital Management Inc. Cuts Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Palouse Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,712 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 133 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises about 1.8% of Palouse Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Palouse Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,481,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $335,000. Evolution Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $203,000. Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 25,523 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $13,437,000 after buying an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $152,000. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,697 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $893,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH traded up $8.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $501.29. The company had a trading volume of 6,616,632 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,553,088. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $488.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $515.13. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $554.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $462.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.54. 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 announced its earnings results 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. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.74 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 45.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were 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 $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on UNH shares. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $605.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $570.05.

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.