Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. Has $1.04 Million Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,060 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,042,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth $27,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 132.1% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 65 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $542.30 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $536.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $565.14. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The stock has a market cap of $499.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.99, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.83 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased 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 owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company 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.