Prosperity Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Prosperity Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,908 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 175 shares during the quarter. Prosperity Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $965,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on UNH. StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Stephens increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:UNH opened at $486.54 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $512.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $552.00. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $630.73. The company has a market capitalization of $445.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.83 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.19%.

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.