UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Acquired by AlphaQuest LLC

AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 187.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 676 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 441 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $342,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Miramar Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 23,425 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,850,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Argentarii LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $1,887,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $62,838,000. Axis Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $814,000. Finally, Barings LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Barings LLC now owns 6,803 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,441,000 after buying an additional 643 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on UNH. StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased 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. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $488.52 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $511.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $550.33. The stock has a market cap of $446.85 billion, a PE ratio of 31.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick 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.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.19%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.