Paradigm Financial Partners LLC Buys 125 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Paradigm Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 12,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up approximately 1.6% of Paradigm Financial Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Paradigm Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $6,705,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 53,573.1% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,352,490 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,238,515,000 after purchasing an additional 2,348,107 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 49.3% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,617,813 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,904,670,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195,352 shares during the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 75.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,011,150 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,014,002,000 after acquiring an additional 862,024 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 35.9% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,090,986 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,627,311,000 after purchasing an additional 815,822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 20.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,725,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,879,245,000 after buying an additional 623,631 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, 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 owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on UNH. HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Piper Sandler boosted 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. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded up $1.49 on Friday, reaching $495.35. The company had a trading volume of 2,727,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,623,667. The firm has a market capitalization of $455.76 billion, a PE ratio of 30.28, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $485.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $514.14. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $1.88 per share. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 45.97%.

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.