Brighton Jones LLC Boosts Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 176.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,249 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,231 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 0.6% of Brighton Jones LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $22,384,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. APG Asset Management US Inc. grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. now owns 351,983 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $174,108,000 after purchasing an additional 17,747 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,772,487 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,920,039,000 after buying an additional 21,149 shares during the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9.2% in the second quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 198,670 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $101,175,000 after acquiring an additional 16,800 shares in the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter valued at about $26,657,000. Finally, Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,062,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on UNH shares. Truist Financial cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. HSBC raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $627.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH stock opened at $528.94 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $486.77 billion, a PE ratio of 34.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $543.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $563.78.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.83 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.74 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. 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.