Operose Advisors LLC Raises Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Operose Advisors LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 39.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,573 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the period. Operose Advisors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $796,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of UNH. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 73,746 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $37,305,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the period. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $253,000. Delaney Dennis R increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Delaney Dennis R now owns 9,546 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,829,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 39,055 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $19,756,000 after buying an additional 5,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dodge & Cox raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 4,093,228 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,070,600,000 after acquiring an additional 191,018 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group 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 transaction, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH opened at $586.23 on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $438.50 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $536.23 billion, a PE ratio of 37.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business’s 50-day moving average is $513.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $541.83.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twenty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $632.85.

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.