UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Acquired by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 8.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 662,775 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 50,945 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 0.8% of William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned 0.07% of UnitedHealth Group worth $335,271,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. State Street Corp lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,540,102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,626,387,000 after purchasing an additional 563,554 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,636,704 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,440,133,000 after buying an additional 318,039 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,061,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,884,019,000 after buying an additional 193,800 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,931,478 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,012,218,000 after acquiring an additional 36,394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,223,331 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,148,134,000 after buying an additional 182,361 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $488.52 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $511.36 and its 200 day moving average is $549.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $446.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.83 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% 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.