Ritholtz Wealth Management Increases Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 40.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,391 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,339 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $10,753,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 671.4% during the 2nd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 54 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 757.1% in the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial raised 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, KeyCorp began coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $617.37.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.1 %

UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $0.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $598.05. 1,909,733 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,921,138. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $583.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $530.81. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $607.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $550.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.58.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.34%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,748.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.