Knuff & Co LLC Makes New Investment in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 135 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $68,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH stock opened at $486.54 on Wednesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $630.73. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $512.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $552.00. The firm has a market cap of $445.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.39, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.83 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. 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. Finally, HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.