UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Bought by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,242,862 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 110,302 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 0.9% of Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $628,842,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective 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 report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, HSBC raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $629.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH opened at $524.94 on Friday. 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 $480.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.87, a PEG 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $509.24 and a 200 day moving average of $542.37.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

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

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.