Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Acquires 38,400 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 31.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 160,400 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 38,400 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 0.7% of Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $81,140,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $10,068,869,000 after purchasing an additional 319,515 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,375,744,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,514,178,000 after purchasing an additional 861,854 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,931,478 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,012,218,000 after buying an additional 36,394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,223,331 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,148,134,000 after acquiring an additional 182,361 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $524.94 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $509.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $542.37. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market cap of $480.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

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.