Wesbanco Bank Inc. Increases Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,868 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,365 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 0.9% of Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $26,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sharp Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Sharp Financial Services LLC now owns 885 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 2,767 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,441,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Kelleher Financial Advisors lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors now owns 3,315 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,677,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 758 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $383,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,210 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,624,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $519.08 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The company has a market cap of $477.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $545.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $564.10.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.83 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.75 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Truist Financial reduced their price target 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $627.74.

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.