Rakuten Securities Inc. Takes $153,000 Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 290 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $153,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Guidance Capital Inc. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 1,681 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $907,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Sfmg LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 1,464 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $771,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 2,091 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,101,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 13,531 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,124,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scissortail Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $1,625,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 2.2 %

UNH stock opened at $478.99 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $441.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $554.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $489.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $515.38.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $1.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.97%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on UNH. Barclays upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $610.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. HSBC raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $569.68.

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.