Berbice Capital Management LLC Acquires Shares of 7,001 UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,001 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $3,542,000. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 2.8% of Berbice Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,096,896,000 after purchasing an additional 5,290,025 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9,235.4% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 784,924 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $458,929,000 after acquiring an additional 776,516 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 33.1% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,361,396 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,380,661,000 after purchasing an additional 587,088 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 129.7% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,029,540 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $601,951,000 after buying an additional 581,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,540,102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,626,387,000 after acquiring an additional 563,554 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $532.26 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $489.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.34, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $630.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $542.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $563.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.83 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on UNH shares. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $627.74.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

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

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.