Empirical Asset Management LLC Raises Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Empirical Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 16.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 21,856 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,157 shares during the quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $11,056,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 132.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 65 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 6.0 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $511.02 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $470.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.29, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $553.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $562.98.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on UNH. HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. KeyCorp began coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, October 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. UBS Group decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $626.79.

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.