Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Has $2.60 Million Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 18.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,933 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 768 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,597,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 49.4% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 32,756 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $17,245,000 after purchasing an additional 10,828 shares in the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 15,489 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $8,154,000 after purchasing an additional 1,107 shares in the last quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $1,804,000. Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $810,000. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 72,220 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $38,022,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH traded up $6.58 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $500.96. The company had a trading volume of 3,395,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,378,167. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $554.70. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $481.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $511.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $460.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.62, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.55.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.26 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $1.88 per share. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UNH. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $605.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, February 8th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $570.05.

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.