Headlands Technologies LLC Buys 6,563 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Headlands Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 295.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,785 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,563 shares during the quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $4,444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,540,102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,626,387,000 after acquiring an additional 563,554 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $10,068,869,000 after purchasing an additional 319,515 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,375,744,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,514,178,000 after acquiring an additional 861,854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,931,478 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,012,218,000 after acquiring an additional 36,394 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $524.48 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $509.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $543.47. 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 firm has a market cap of $479.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.83 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on UNH. StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Barclays reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

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 dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.