Erste Asset Management GmbH Grows Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Erste Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 256,883 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 6,498 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises 1.5% of Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $122,524,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $341,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,778,636 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,039,933,000 after purchasing an additional 180,479 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 6,599 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,858,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 941 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Heartland Consultants Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. now owns 1,166 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $682,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on UNH shares. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. 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 research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently 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 UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $481.18 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $512.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $551.50. The company has a market cap of $440.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.83 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current 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 issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.19%.

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.