UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Purchased by Wealthspire Advisors LLC

Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 12,515 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 222 shares during the quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $6,589,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,941 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $8,919,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the period. Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at about $216,000. Bellecapital International Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 13,823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,277,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.8% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 34,297 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $17,292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 326.0% in the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 213 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of UNH traded up $2.25 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $503.21. The company had a trading volume of 2,922,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,362,104. The stock has a market cap of $462.99 billion, a PE ratio of 30.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-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.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.26 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 45.97%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $675.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock 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 data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $570.05.

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.