Boston Partners Acquires 105,715 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Boston Partners grew its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,610,608 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 105,715 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 1.0% of Boston Partners’ portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Boston Partners owned about 0.18% of UnitedHealth Group worth $815,732,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 220,590 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $128,975,000 after purchasing an additional 26,074 shares in the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,957 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,025,000 after purchasing an additional 1,193 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1,275.3% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 44,547 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $26,060,000 after purchasing an additional 41,308 shares in the last quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $21,165,000. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 9,115 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,611,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $499.01 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $511.11 and a 200-day moving average of $549.15. The company has a market cap of $456.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.83 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on UNH. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, January 10th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $629.32.

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.