Sandbox Financial Partners LLC Buys 21 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Sandbox Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,032 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Sandbox Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $543,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter worth $210,000. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.9% during the first quarter. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. now owns 744 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 31.8% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 250,196 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $127,592,000 after acquiring an additional 60,300 shares during the last quarter. MAS Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.8% during the first quarter. MAS Advisors LLC now owns 463 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Western Trust Bank bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the first quarter valued at about $875,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were 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 $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $1.60 on Thursday, hitting $494.70. 3,805,551 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,097,774. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $503.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $518.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $456.08 billion, a PE ratio of 20.70, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.54. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $445.68 and a 1 year high of $554.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.98 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $94.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.13 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 26.39%. The company’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.34 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.82 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $1.88 per share. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 19th. HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and set a $480.00 price target (down previously from $550.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, December 18th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $584.00 to $581.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $579.33.

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.