Meridian Financial Partners LLC Has $1.61 Million Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Meridian Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 4.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,848 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises 1.0% of Meridian Financial Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Meridian Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $5,802,231,000. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter worth $1,117,462,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 107.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,306,729 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,141,113,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,758 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 49.3% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,617,813 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,904,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195,352 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 35.9% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,090,986 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,627,311,000 after acquiring an additional 815,822 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH traded down $1.93 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $577.68. The stock had a trading volume of 2,728,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,224,914. The company has a market cap of $533.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a fifty day moving average of $529.38 and a 200 day moving average of $507.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.88. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $591.54.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.66 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.73 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UNH. UBS Group boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $597.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $525.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $614.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total value of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at $4,507,748.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.