Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Raises Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,579 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,364 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up 1.6% of Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $13,993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Robbins Farley purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 340.0% during the 3rd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 66 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 148.1% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 67 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on UNH. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $570.05.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH traded down $5.76 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $483.27. The stock had a trading volume of 989,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,437,152. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $485.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $513.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $444.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.63, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.54. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.26 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $1.88 dividend. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.97%.

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.