128,629 Shares in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Bought by OFI Invest Asset Management

OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 128,629 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $62,838,000. UnitedHealth Group makes up approximately 1.5% of OFI Invest Asset Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Axis Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $814,000. Barings LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Barings LLC now owns 6,803 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,441,000 after buying an additional 643 shares during the period. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,053 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,039,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 97.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 6,069,100 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,183,132,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991,470 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stephens upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Barclays dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One research 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 stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $629.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.2 %

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $493.35 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $451.28 billion, a PE ratio of 31.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $513.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $553.57. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.83 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.19%.

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.