Prelude Capital Management LLC Sells 1,943 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Prelude Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 76.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 601 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,943 shares during the quarter. Prelude Capital Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter worth about $210,000. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 8.9% during the first quarter. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. now owns 744 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 31.8% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 250,196 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $127,592,000 after purchasing an additional 60,300 shares in the last quarter. MAS Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. MAS Advisors LLC now owns 463 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Western Trust Bank purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 1st quarter worth about $875,000. 85.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on UNH shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $587.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, July 14th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $560.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, August 11th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $580.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $564.00 to $555.00 in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Finally, SVB Securities lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $560.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $575.65.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CEO Andrew Witty sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $506.19, for a total value of $2,024,760.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,573 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,772,866.87. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $486.06 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $450.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.75, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.66. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $492.05 and its 200 day moving average is $486.73. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $445.68 and a twelve month high of $558.10.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 14th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.92 by $0.22. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.72% and a net margin of 6.06%. The business had revenue of $92.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.97 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.57 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 24.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 11th will be paid a $1.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 8th. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.65%.

UnitedHealth Group Company Profile

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a diversified health care company in the United States. It 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.