Watershed Private Wealth LLC Raises Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Watershed Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 22.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,406 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the quarter. Watershed Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $822,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,117,462,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 107.8% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,306,729 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,141,113,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,758 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $480,903,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,942,956,000 after buying an additional 880,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1,125.4% in the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 894,006 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $455,281,000 after acquiring an additional 821,050 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH traded down $48.31 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $557.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 10,225,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,944,671. The company has a market cap of $514.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $608.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $584.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $532.15.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.66 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. The business had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $98.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.14 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $617.37.

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.