Sargent Investment Group LLC Purchases 271 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Sargent Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,857 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the period. Sargent Investment Group LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,504,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,941 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $8,919,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Bellecapital International Ltd. grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 13,823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,277,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.8% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 34,297 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $17,292,000 after buying an additional 1,884 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 326.0% during the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 213 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on UNH. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $610.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of UNH traded up $1.49 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $495.35. 2,727,016 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,623,667. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $554.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $485.84 and its 200-day moving average is $514.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $455.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.54.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $1.88 per share. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 45.97%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at $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 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.