GDS Wealth Management Acquires 2,096 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

GDS Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 18.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,587 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,096 shares during the period. GDS Wealth Management’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $7,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,220,234 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $12,715,790,000 after buying an additional 527,526 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,787,768 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,934,895,000 after purchasing an additional 341,749 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,984,853 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,143,004,000 after purchasing an additional 141,646 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.5% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 5,757,410 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,902,829,000 after purchasing an additional 352,710 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 20.1% during the third 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 and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of UNH traded up $3.84 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $507.05. 2,342,947 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,341,180. The stock has a market capitalization of $466.53 billion, a PE ratio of 30.99, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $481.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $511.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.85. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.26 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $1.88 dividend. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the company’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 transaction of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $570.05.

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.