Railway Pension Investments Ltd Raises Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Railway Pension Investments Ltd lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 265,520 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises about 1.3% of Railway Pension Investments Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Railway Pension Investments Ltd’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $131,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 1,662 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $875,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $366,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Coastline Trust Co increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 15,607 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,217,000 after buying an additional 844 shares during the period. Colonial River Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 30.1% in the 4th quarter. Colonial River Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,166 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,667,000 after buying an additional 733 shares during the period. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 4,914 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,587,000 after buying an additional 1,006 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total transaction of $1,624,727.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at $4,507,748.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on UNH. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $560.00 to $604.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $546.00 to $559.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $481.00 to $647.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $614.17.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 3.0 %

NYSE:UNH traded up $17.06 on Friday, reaching $589.83. The stock had a trading volume of 5,094,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,453,607. The company has a market cap of $542.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.59. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $591.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $514.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $503.26.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $98.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 26.55%. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.14 EPS. Equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 17th. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 51.34%.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.