Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd Buys 2,631 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 17.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,969 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,631 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 1.3% of Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $9,090,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Howard Capital Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at $341,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,778,636 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,039,933,000 after acquiring an additional 180,479 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,763,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,197,167 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,869,320,000 after purchasing an additional 107,097 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Hawaii lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 108.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Hawaii now owns 4,263 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,492,000 after buying an additional 2,213 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.0 %

UNH stock opened at $516.94 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $509.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $546.15. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $630.73. The company has a market capitalization of $472.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.83 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on UNH. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.