Hilltop Partners LLC Increases Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Hilltop Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 26.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,891 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 0.7% of Hilltop Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Hilltop Partners LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,968,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sentinel Trust Co. LBA lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Sentinel Trust Co. LBA now owns 5,951 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,010,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the period. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 4,895 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,476,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. AWM Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. AWM Capital LLC now owns 449 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 76,830.4% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,888,641 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $955,388,000 after purchasing an additional 1,886,186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 59,320 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,008,000 after buying an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $469.11 on Friday. 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 Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $517.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $557.79. The stock has a market cap of $431.71 billion, a PE ratio of 30.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.83 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on UNH shares. Oppenheimer raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 in the company, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company 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.