Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Purchases 2,796 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 7.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 38,702 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,796 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $19,146,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 148.1% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 67 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on UNH shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Baird R W raised shares of UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $579.74.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE UNH opened at $482.59 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a fifty day moving average of $497.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $503.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $444.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.50, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.58. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.26 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.57 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This is a positive change from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

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.