JGP Wealth Management LLC Buys 71 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

JGP Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 911 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. JGP Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UNH. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 5,290,025 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter worth approximately $480,903,000. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 9,235.4% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 784,924 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $458,929,000 after acquiring an additional 776,516 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 33.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,361,396 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,380,661,000 after purchasing an additional 587,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 129.7% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 581,324 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Hsbc Global Res raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $626.79.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $511.02 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $470.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.29, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $553.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $562.98.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

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

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.