Van ECK Associates Corp Purchases 22,059 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 12.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 196,907 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,059 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $99,607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Retirement Guys Formula LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC now owns 4,096 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,072,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 31,226 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $15,796,000 after acquiring an additional 720 shares in the last quarter. Davidson Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Davidson Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,876 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,972,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 874 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $442,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 13,863 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,013,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $531.31 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $630.73. 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 market cap of $488.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.28, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $524.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $563.71.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS 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 company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Barclays lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

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.