UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Bought by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 16.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,154 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,178 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $14,748,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Saturna Capital Corp grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Saturna Capital Corp now owns 1,776 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $898,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 8,229 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,163,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares during the period. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,908 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $965,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Natural Investments LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,223,000. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 215.9% in the 4th quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 303,581 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $153,569,000 after acquiring an additional 207,474 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $481.18 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $440.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.04, 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 current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $512.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $551.50.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.83 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on UNH shares. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report 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 research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.