Echo45 Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Echo45 Advisors LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 619 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Echo45 Advisors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $318,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. BlackBarn Capital Partners LP lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.7% during the second quarter. BlackBarn Capital Partners LP now owns 32,000 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $16,296,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,890 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $5,546,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $480,903,000. Fred Alger Management LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 103,957 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $52,941,000 after buying an additional 14,880 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 22,069 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,239,000 after buying an additional 2,221 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on UNH shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $627.74.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $519.08 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $477.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.49, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $545.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $564.10. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion during 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 for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.83 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.