Aviance Capital Partners LLC Buys 172 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 23.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 901 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 172 shares during the quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $474,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,220,234 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $12,715,790,000 after purchasing an additional 527,526 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,787,768 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,934,895,000 after purchasing an additional 341,749 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,843,207 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,937,976,000 after buying an additional 27,127 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.5% in the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 5,757,410 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,902,829,000 after acquiring an additional 352,710 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,725,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,879,245,000 after purchasing an additional 623,631 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH stock traded up $6.58 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $500.96. 3,395,758 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,378,167. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $481.45 and its 200 day moving average is $511.98. The stock has a market cap of $460.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.62, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.55. 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 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion for 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%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.26 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on UNH. Piper Sandler raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $605.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. Four equities 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $570.05.

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.