Sandy Cove Advisors LLC Acquires 52 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Sandy Cove Advisors LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 5.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,018 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $504,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 83,860,515 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $44,150,045,000 after acquiring an additional 250,291 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 527,526 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,122,203 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,961,369,000 after acquiring an additional 324,733 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,860,985 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $6,244,158,000 after purchasing an additional 542,424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $5,802,231,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $509.26 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $468.72 billion, a PE ratio of 31.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.60. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $554.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $498.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $501.63.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 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 company posted $6.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 17th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on UNH. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $597.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $579.74.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.