Focused Investors LLC Buys 16,950 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Focused Investors LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 426,600 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 16,950 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up approximately 6.8% of Focused Investors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Focused Investors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $215,800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UNH. Howard Capital Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $341,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 11.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,778,636 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,039,933,000 after purchasing an additional 180,479 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 8.0% in the third quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 1,443 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $844,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 46.7% during the third quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 4,198 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,455,000 after purchasing an additional 1,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stonebrook Private Inc. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 111.8% during the third quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. now owns 5,453 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,188,000 after purchasing an additional 2,879 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on UNH shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH opened at $517.72 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $510.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $547.11. The stock has a market cap of $473.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.40, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its 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 net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.83 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 54.19%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the purchase, the director now 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 through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.