O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Purchases 6,813 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 119,351 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,813 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $60,375,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at about $57,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.0 %

UNH stock opened at $515.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $630.73. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $508.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $544.24. The company has a market capitalization of $471.51 billion, a PE ratio of 33.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the transaction, the director now 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on UNH. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $629.32.

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.