Challenger Wealth Management Invests $883,000 in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Challenger Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,746 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $883,000. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 0.8% of Challenger Wealth Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of UNH. Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 21,805 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,030,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Aurdan Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $9,780,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $90,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 647 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $327,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 695,945 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $352,051,000 after acquiring an additional 21,373 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,533 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $320.80 per share, for a total transaction of $491,786.40. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 679,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,081,295.01. This represents a 14.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Argus lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Mizuho reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $515.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 price target (down previously from $580.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Wolfe Research lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $513.00 to $362.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $441.87.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $295.37 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $267.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.06, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $248.88 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $452.40 and its 200 day moving average is $504.43.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The business had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.91 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.18%.

UnitedHealth Group 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.