Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC Raises Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 527.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,380 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,885 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 1.3% of Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $4,745,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $57,000. Finally, DecisionPoint Financial LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 155.0% during the 4th quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired 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 directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of UNH opened at $503.01 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week 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 company’s fifty day moving average is $520.37 and its 200 day moving average is $561.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $462.91 billion, a PE ratio of 32.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.61.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the subject of a number of research reports. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Stephens upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

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.