Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC Has $27.25 Million Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 53,866 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up 1.1% of Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $27,249,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UNH. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $6,375,744,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,914,740,000. Amundi raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 97.2% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 6,069,100 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $3,183,132,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991,470 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 76,830.4% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,888,641 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $955,388,000 after purchasing an additional 1,886,186 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,514,178,000 after buying an additional 861,854 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $4.70 during trading on Friday, hitting $599.10. The stock had a trading volume of 6,117,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,344,668. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $512.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $541.80. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $438.50 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $548.00 billion, a PE ratio of 38.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on UNH shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $700.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $595.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $632.85.

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.