Guardian Investment Management Invests $1.91 Million in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Guardian Investment Management purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 3,630 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $1,911,000. UnitedHealth Group comprises about 1.6% of Guardian Investment Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UNH. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 100,076.4% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,823,820 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,268,753,000 after purchasing an additional 11,812,017 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,210,004,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,682.4% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,691,542 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,372,606,000 after buying an additional 2,540,538 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 53,573.1% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,352,490 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,238,515,000 after buying an additional 2,348,107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 143.4% during the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,494,100 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,679,401,000 after purchasing an additional 2,058,829 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UNH. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $675.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $569.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the company’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH stock traded up $17.49 during trading on Thursday, hitting $496.48. 6,149,123 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,485,922. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.79. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $554.70. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $489.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $515.38. The company has a market cap of $457.72 billion, a PE ratio of 30.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.54.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.26 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.75 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 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $1.88 dividend. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.97%.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.