Halpern Financial Inc. Grows Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Halpern Financial Inc. raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH – Free Report) by 70.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 216 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the quarter. Halpern Financial Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $109,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 97,436.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,029,274,230 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $494,710,366,000 after buying an additional 1,028,218,963 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 100,076.4% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,823,820 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,268,753,000 after purchasing an additional 11,812,017 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $5,210,004,000. Gateway Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 48,406.9% in the 1st quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 4,762,407 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,762,000 after purchasing an additional 4,752,589 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 264.2% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,511,174 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $732,934,000 after purchasing an additional 3,997,959 shares during the period. 85.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $531.12 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $491.25 billion, a PE ratio of 23.05, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $537.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $506.85. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $445.68 and a 52-week high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 13th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $92.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $91.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.79 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 24.95 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 4th were issued a dividend of $1.88 per share. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 1st. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $610.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, November 30th. UBS Group upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $520.00 to $640.00 in a research note on Monday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $596.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, November 30th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $584.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 16th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $585.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $578.05.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on UNH

About UnitedHealth Group

(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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