Allstate Corp Acquires 26,644 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Allstate Corp lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3,187.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 27,480 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,644 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 0.4% of Allstate Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Allstate Corp’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $13,901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $6,375,744,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,914,740,000. Amundi grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 97.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 6,069,100 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,183,132,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991,470 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 76,830.4% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,888,641 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $955,388,000 after buying an additional 1,886,186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 129.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,029,540 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $601,951,000 after acquiring an additional 581,324 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the acquisition, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.0 %

UNH stock opened at $515.47 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The stock has a market cap of $471.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.26, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $508.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $544.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.83 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on UNH. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Truist Financial lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $629.32.

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.