Gabelli Funds LLC Raises Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 14.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 39,055 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 5,060 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $19,756,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $10,068,869,000 after purchasing an additional 319,515 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,375,744,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,514,178,000 after acquiring an additional 861,854 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,931,478 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,012,218,000 after purchasing an additional 36,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,223,331 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,148,134,000 after buying an additional 182,361 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Mizuho increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $632.85.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:UNH opened at $583.43 on Wednesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $438.50 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The company’s 50 day moving average is $514.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $542.12. 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 company has a market cap of $533.67 billion, a PE ratio of 37.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.83 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.