Level Four Advisory Services LLC Trims Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Level Four Advisory Services LLC lowered its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,760 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 391 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 0.7% of Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $17,078,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of UNH. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.4% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 220,590 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $128,975,000 after acquiring an additional 26,074 shares in the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,957 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,025,000 after buying an additional 1,193 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1,275.3% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 44,547 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $26,060,000 after acquiring an additional 41,308 shares during the period. Parsifal Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth $21,165,000. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 9,115 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,611,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.4 %

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $515.89 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $471.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $508.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $545.16.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.83 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on UNH shares. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Barclays lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Stephens increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $629.32.

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.