Russell Investments Group Ltd. Grows Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,242,862 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 110,302 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up 0.9% of Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.14% of UnitedHealth Group worth $628,842,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Ted Buchan & Co grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 32.6% in the fourth quarter. Ted Buchan & Co now owns 5,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,869,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393 shares during the period. Hemenway Trust Co LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC now owns 53,187 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $26,905,000 after purchasing an additional 1,271 shares during the last quarter. Payden & Rygel increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 519.7% during the 4th quarter. Payden & Rygel now owns 28,380 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $14,356,000 after buying an additional 23,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 25,372 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,835,000 after acquiring an additional 5,625 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 2.9 %

NYSE:UNH opened at $524.94 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $480.17 billion, a PE ratio of 33.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $509.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $542.37. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.