UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) is Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s Largest Position

Vantage Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 26.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 106,934 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 22,610 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 5.6% of Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $56,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CNB Bank lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. CNB Bank now owns 2,777 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 3,372 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,775,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 27.4% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 93 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Stephenson & Company Inc. acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $333,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 5,060 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,664,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded up $7.95 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $501.13. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,618,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,233,813. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $488.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $515.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $462.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.54. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 45.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on UNH. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $570.05.

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.