Heartland Bank & Trust Co Buys 539 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Heartland Bank & Trust Co raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 20.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,209 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up approximately 0.9% of Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,623,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. James Hambro & Partners LLP raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. James Hambro & Partners LLP now owns 230,858 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $116,917,000 after buying an additional 3,434 shares during the last quarter. Curran Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 24.5% in the 4th quarter. Curran Financial Partners LLC now owns 727 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Investments LLC now owns 1,477 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $747,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 2,142 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 1,982 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,003,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $543.41 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $500.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $541.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $564.79.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.74 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.19%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $627.74.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.