ZEGA Investments LLC Purchases New Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

ZEGA Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 10,061 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $5,358,000. UnitedHealth Group comprises 1.3% of ZEGA Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UNH. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,914,740,000. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 97.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 6,069,100 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,183,132,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991,470 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 76,830.4% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,888,641 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $955,388,000 after purchasing an additional 1,886,186 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 129.7% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,029,540 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $601,951,000 after buying an additional 581,324 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% in 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 during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH stock opened at $517.72 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $473.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $510.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $547.47. 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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.83 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.19%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. HSBC raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $629.32.

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.