Victory Capital Management Inc. Raises Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 627,739 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 22,788 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of UnitedHealth Group worth $317,548,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 220,590 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $128,975,000 after acquiring an additional 26,074 shares during the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 17.6% in the 4th 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. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,275.3% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 44,547 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $26,060,000 after purchasing an additional 41,308 shares during the period. Parsifal Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $21,165,000. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 9,115 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,611,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.3 %

UNH stock traded up $1.61 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $476.22. 3,636,081 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,991,972. 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 Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $514.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $554.81. The company has a market cap of $438.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.83 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.19%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of 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 upped their price objective 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. HSBC upgraded shares of 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. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. 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. One equities research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price 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.