Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. Acquires 189 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,611 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 0.7% of Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,963,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kera Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $289,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,207 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Raub Brock Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Raub Brock Capital Management LP now owns 32,629 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $16,506,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management now owns 4,887 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,472,000 after buying an additional 767 shares during the period. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 51,986 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,298,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $510.03 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The business has a fifty day moving average of $549.37 and a 200-day moving average of $562.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $469.37 billion, a PE ratio of 33.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.83 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.65%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 54.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on UNH. Stephens increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $627.74.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.