UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Stock Holdings Boosted by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 918,316 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,973 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 1.3% of KBC Group NV’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. KBC Group NV owned 0.10% of UnitedHealth Group worth $464,539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UNH. Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 76.9% during the second quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 734 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Forefront Analytics LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 6.4% during the second quarter. Forefront Analytics LLC now owns 877 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $449,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,112,000. Copperwynd Financial LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 24.2% in the second quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 1,775 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $904,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the period. Finally, Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 322.7% during the second quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,661 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,957,000 after acquiring an additional 10,429 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH stock opened at $532.26 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $489.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $541.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $564.34. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.83 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on UNH. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. UBS Group lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $627.74.

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.