Bank of Nova Scotia Grows Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 119.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 635,455 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 345,799 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 0.6% of Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 0.07% of UnitedHealth Group worth $321,489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 220,590 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $128,975,000 after buying an additional 26,074 shares in the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,957 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,025,000 after acquiring an additional 1,193 shares during the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 9,115 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,611,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051 shares during the last quarter. Waycross Partners LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Waycross Partners LLC now owns 27,794 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $14,060,000 after purchasing an additional 658 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth approximately $558,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNH traded up $4.70 on Friday, reaching $599.10. 6,117,814 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,351,444. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $512.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $542.03. The firm has a market cap of $548.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $2.10 dividend. 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $595.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $632.85.

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.