First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Buys 4,602 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 50.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 13,766 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,602 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 0.6% of First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $7,247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Summit Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 20,361 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $10,719,000 after acquiring an additional 682 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 39,389 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $20,737,000 after buying an additional 5,092 shares in the last quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC now owns 13,189 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,943,000 after buying an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 2,072 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,091,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RB Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 5,086 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,678,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on UNH shares. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $610.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $675.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:UNH traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $484.11. The stock had a trading volume of 2,623,945 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,444,623. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $554.70. The company has a market capitalization of $445.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.74, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $484.44 and a 200 day moving average of $513.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 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.