Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. Buys 43 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 4.0% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,108 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 43 shares during the quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $580,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $6,375,744,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 56,142.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,295,153 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,344,586,000 after buying an additional 8,280,404 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,592,718 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,346,712,000 after buying an additional 2,301,010 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,503,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,807,527,000 after buying an additional 1,058,488 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,616,007 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,899,905,000 after buying an additional 906,365 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 4.8%

UNH opened at $278.52 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $301.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $427.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $252.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.66, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $248.88 and a one year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $2.21 per share. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on UNH. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $308.00 price objective (down from $520.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $360.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $450.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $563.00 to $374.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $394.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kristen Gil purchased 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $271.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,329.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 3,818 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,327.06. The trade was a 3,135.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 over the last three months. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.