Markel Group Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Markel Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 11.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,714 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 2,650 shares during the quarter. Markel Group Inc.'s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $13,514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $6.32 on Tuesday, hitting $486.54. 4,100,487 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,993,668. The stock has a market capitalization of $445.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $512.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $552.00. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 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.

Remove Ads

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.83 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors 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 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 54.19%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Stephens lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $629.32.

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.