Choate Investment Advisors Boosts Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Choate Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,944 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,742 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 0.6% of Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $23,750,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth about $341,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 11.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,778,636 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,039,933,000 after purchasing an additional 180,479 shares in the last quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 21.4% during the third quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 1,446 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $845,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 7.4% during the third quarter. Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,869 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,093,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Broderick Brian C increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Broderick Brian C now owns 21,497 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $12,569,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:UNH opened at $488.52 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The business’s 50 day moving average is $511.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $550.33. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The company has a market cap of $446.85 billion, a PE ratio of 31.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.83 EPS. The business’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 Announces Dividend

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 issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on UNH. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Hsbc Global Res raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with 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 a consensus target price of $629.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.