Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Boosts Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,840 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 86 shares during the quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $11,048,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 132.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 65 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on UNH. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $627.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of UNH opened at $528.94 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $543.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $563.78. The stock has a market cap of $486.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.83 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

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.