Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,060 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,042,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,540,102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $26,626,387,000 after acquiring an additional 563,554 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,636,704 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $11,440,133,000 after purchasing an additional 318,039 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,061,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,884,019,000 after buying an additional 193,800 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,096,896,000 after buying an additional 5,290,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,772,487 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,920,039,000 after acquiring an additional 21,149 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH stock opened at $543.21 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $499.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The business has a fifty day moving average of $554.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $563.12.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.56 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp began coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $626.79.

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.