Curran Financial Partners LLC Boosts Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Curran Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 24.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 727 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 143 shares during the quarter. Curran Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 132.1% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 65 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $532.26 on Monday. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $541.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $564.79. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The firm has a market cap of $489.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.83 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on UNH shares. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $627.74.

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.