Whipplewood Advisors LLC Takes Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,236 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $625,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Jmac Enterprises LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Wallace Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.9% in the third quarter. Wallace Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,119 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,239,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 902 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $456,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the third quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 4,686 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,740,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paragon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.9% in the third quarter. Paragon Capital Management LLC now owns 721 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.4 %

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $463.69 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $426.73 billion, a PE ratio of 29.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The company has a 50 day moving average of $517.50 and a 200-day moving average of $558.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly 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. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.83 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.