Waverly Advisors LLC Acquires 8,433 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 69.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,522 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,433 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $10,381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Waycross Partners LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Waycross Partners LLC now owns 27,794 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $14,060,000 after acquiring an additional 658 shares during the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $515,000. Full Sail Capital LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $815,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 37,974 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $19,210,000 after acquiring an additional 4,022 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,413,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on UNH shares. StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $677.00 to $351.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wolfe Research cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $501.00 to $390.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 price target (down previously from $580.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $451.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

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

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $321.76 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $291.88 billion, a PE ratio of 20.76, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $464.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $510.17. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $248.88 and a 12-month high of $630.73.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.18%.

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.