Patten & Patten Inc. TN Raises Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Patten & Patten Inc. TN lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,277 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 870 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 1.3% of Patten & Patten Inc. TN’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Patten & Patten Inc. TN’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $20,375,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the topic of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Truist Financial cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $488.52 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $511.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $550.07. The company has a market capitalization of $446.85 billion, a PE ratio of 31.52, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.