Kennedy Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 12.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 58,546 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,672 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up 0.7% of Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $29,616,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 4.9 %

UNH opened at $580.16 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $510.86 and a 200-day moving average of $541.73. 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 market capitalization of $530.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.83 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.19%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. 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. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company 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 report on Thursday, January 23rd. Twenty-one 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $630.35.

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.