CCM Investment Advisers LLC Acquires 2,288 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

CCM Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,346 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,288 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises 1.8% of CCM Investment Advisers LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. CCM Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $16,363,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 220,590 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $128,975,000 after purchasing an additional 26,074 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1,275.3% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 44,547 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $26,060,000 after acquiring an additional 41,308 shares during the last quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth $21,165,000. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth $558,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,061,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,884,019,000 after purchasing an additional 193,800 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report 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 note on Monday. Oppenheimer upped their target price 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, HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $626.79.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $1.26 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $525.78. 2,364,694 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,663,190. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The company has a market cap of $483.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $556.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $561.20.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.56 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 54.72%.

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.