First Financial Corp IN Increases Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

First Financial Corp IN lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,001 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 68 shares during the quarter. First Financial Corp IN’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,012,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 132.1% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 65 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $541.28 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $554.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $562.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $498.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.26, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.56 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. 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 1.55%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $603.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average 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.