UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Buys 2,301,010 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 36.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,592,718 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 2,301,010 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 1.0% of UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $4,346,712,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 902 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $456,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,578 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,304,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 575 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,654,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,527 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,278,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 8.2%

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $315.80 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $467.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $511.49. The company has a market capitalization of $286.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $248.88 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.91 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Hemsley purchased 86,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $288.57 per share, for a total transaction of $25,019,019.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 679,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,081,295.01. The trade was a 14.63% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have bought 109,408 shares of company stock valued at $31,607,768. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $360.00 target price (down from $580.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $677.00 to $351.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $521.00 to $362.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $454.23.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.