UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Purchased by Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 22.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,070,968 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 380,459 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 3.4% of Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC owned approximately 0.23% of UnitedHealth Group worth $1,047,620,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of UNH. Norges Bank bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during 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 grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 2,991,470 shares during the period. 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,514,178,000 after acquiring an additional 861,854 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the purchase, 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on UNH shares. 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price 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. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twenty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $630.35.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $14.09 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $567.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,595,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,299,407. The stock has a market cap of $518.80 billion, a PE ratio of 36.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $509.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $541.42. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is 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.