Avanza Fonder AB Takes Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 80,776 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $40,861,000. UnitedHealth Group comprises about 1.2% of Avanza Fonder AB's holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Delta Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $965,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 7.0% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 274 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.9% during the third quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC now owns 990 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $579,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Matrix Private Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% during the second quarter. Matrix Private Capital Group LLC now owns 542 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on UNH shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $627.74.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH traded down $0.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $510.03. 7,462,712 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,104,531. The stock has a market cap of $469.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The company has a 50 day moving average of $549.37 and a 200-day moving average of $562.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company 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 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. UnitedHealth Group's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.83 EPS. Analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is 54.72%.

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.