Sandy Spring Bank Decreases Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Sandy Spring Bank cut its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,197 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 41 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $6,676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on UNH shares. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $503.05 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $460.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s 50-day moving average is $510.48 and its 200 day moving average is $548.22.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.83 EPS. Research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

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.