Korea Investment CORP Lowers Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Korea Investment CORP lessened its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 687,043 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 36,032 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 0.8% of Korea Investment CORP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $347,548,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Howard Capital Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth $341,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,778,636 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,039,933,000 after buying an additional 180,479 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,763,000. Cadence Bank lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.7% during the third quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 2,794 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,634,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baldwin Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 2,800 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,637,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on UNH shares. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Stephens lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $629.32.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.9 %

UNH stock opened at $518.10 on Thursday. 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 quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $473.92 billion, a PE ratio of 33.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $508.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $545.37.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

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

UnitedHealth Group 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.