Ritholtz Wealth Management Purchases 2,744 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 19.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,866 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,744 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $8,880,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC now owns 577 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,217 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $614,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 2,456 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,238,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Bensler LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bensler LLC now owns 7,293 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,677,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX now owns 1,695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $855,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 19th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $610.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, November 30th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $596.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $579.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 is available through this link. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 is available through this link. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the business’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 value of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $494.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $445.68 and a fifty-two week high of $554.70. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $503.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $518.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $456.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.75, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.54.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.98 by $0.18. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.39% and a net margin of 6.02%. The firm had revenue of $94.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.34 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.82 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid 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 yield of 1.52%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.54%.

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.