UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Stake Boosted by Payden & Rygel

Payden & Rygel increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 519.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 28,380 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 23,800 shares during the period. Payden & Rygel’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $14,356,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth about $341,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 180,479 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $319,000. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 16,370 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $9,571,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Temasek Holdings Private Ltd raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 137.6% during the 3rd quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 161,656 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $94,517,000 after acquiring an additional 93,618 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the purchase, 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 2.9 %

NYSE:UNH opened at $524.94 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $509.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $542.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $480.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.87, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.83 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 54.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UNH. 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. Barclays reduced their price target 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. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

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.