Magellan Asset Management Ltd Acquires 14,713 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Magellan Asset Management Ltd grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 635,550 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 14,713 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up approximately 3.5% of Magellan Asset Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Magellan Asset Management Ltd owned 0.07% of UnitedHealth Group worth $321,499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of UNH. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,540,102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $26,626,387,000 after purchasing an additional 563,554 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $10,068,869,000 after purchasing an additional 319,515 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $6,375,744,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 861,854 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,931,478 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,012,218,000 after acquiring an additional 36,394 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $17.67 during trading on Thursday, hitting $540.87. The stock had a trading volume of 6,454,806 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,243,146. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business has a fifty day moving average of $509.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $542.82. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The firm has a market cap of $494.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.89, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is 54.19%.

Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the acquisition, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on UNH shares. Stephens raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $629.32.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.