Cozad Asset Management Inc. Grows Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,709 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up 1.1% of Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $11,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of UNH. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.4% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 220,590 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $128,975,000 after purchasing an additional 26,074 shares in the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,957 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,025,000 after purchasing an additional 1,193 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,275.3% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at about $21,165,000. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 9,115 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,611,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $488.52 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $446.85 billion, a PE ratio of 31.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $511.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $549.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.83 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on UNH shares. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target 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.