Scotia Capital Inc. Buys 45,328 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Scotia Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 470,936 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 45,328 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 1.3% of Scotia Capital Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Scotia Capital Inc. owned 0.05% of UnitedHealth Group worth $238,243,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on UNH. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $630.35.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $580.16 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $510.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $541.73. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The stock has a market cap of $530.68 billion, a PE ratio of 37.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.83 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.