Mizuho Securities USA LLC Raises Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 45.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 87,222 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 27,343 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 0.8% of Mizuho Securities USA LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $44,122,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. ZEGA Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,358,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $360,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $124,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $371,000. Finally, One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 618 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $595.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $629.32.

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UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH traded up $4.67 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $518.10. The stock had a trading volume of 3,253,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,086,604. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $473.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $509.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $545.56.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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%. The company's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.83 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is 54.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.