Occidental Asset Management LLC Grows Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Occidental Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,571 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the period. Occidental Asset Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $3,830,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Empirical Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 21,856 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,056,000 after acquiring an additional 3,157 shares in the last quarter. Cvfg LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $233,000. Constitution Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 8,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,420,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 3,736 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,889,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bennett Associates Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 55.6% in the 4th quarter. Bennett Associates Wealth Management now owns 652 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 6.0 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $511.02 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $553.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $562.98. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The stock has a market cap of $470.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.29, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.83 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on UNH. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Stephens increased 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. Barclays upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $603.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $626.79.

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.