Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Sells 1,231 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lowered its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 35.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,238 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,231 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Caliber Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.3% in the third quarter. Caliber Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,060 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,551,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Vanderbilt University purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth about $1,520,000. RFG Advisory LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 27.0% in the third quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 6,524 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,290,000 after buying an additional 1,386 shares during the last quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% in the third quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 21,609 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $10,895,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 14.9% in the third quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 3,908 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,970,000 after buying an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE UNH traded down $4.86 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $486.37. 3,645,655 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,543,351. The company has a market capitalization of $448.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $487.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $514.76. 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 Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.26 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $1.88 dividend. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UNH. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $570.05.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

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.