Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. Buys 61 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

by · The Markets Daily

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH – Free Report) by 3.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,884 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $995,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.4% during the third quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC now owns 577 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the third quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 2,456 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,238,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,217 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $614,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Bensler LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% in the third quarter. Bensler LLC now owns 7,293 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,677,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zullo Investment Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.7% in the second quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,001 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,443,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 85.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stephen J. Hemsley sold 66,081 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.39, for a total transaction of $36,370,321.59. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 635,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $349,788,255.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Stephen J. Hemsley sold 66,081 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.39, for a total value of $36,370,321.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 635,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $349,788,255.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 4,498 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.28, for a total transaction of $2,448,171.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,017,173.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 192,094 shares of company stock valued at $104,507,072 in the last 90 days. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $539.64 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $445.68 and a fifty-two week high of $554.70. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $537.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $512.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $499.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.42, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.56.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 13th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.33 by $0.23. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 26.58%. The firm had revenue of $92.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $91.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.79 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 24.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 4th were given a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 1st. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on UNH. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $565.00 to $503.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $587.00 to $579.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 23rd. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $610.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, November 30th. HSBC reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and set a $480.00 price target (down previously from $550.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, December 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Tuesday, November 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $574.89.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group Profile

(Free Report)

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a diversified health care company in the United States. It 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.

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