UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Stock Holdings Lifted by Prosperity Financial Group Inc.

Prosperity Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,908 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Prosperity Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $965,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,540,102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $26,626,387,000 after acquiring an additional 563,554 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,636,704 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,440,133,000 after buying an additional 318,039 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,061,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,884,019,000 after buying an additional 193,800 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,931,478 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,012,218,000 after buying an additional 36,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,223,331 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,148,134,000 after buying an additional 182,361 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. 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 note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $486.54 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $512.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $552.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $445.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.83 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.19%.

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.