Guardian Partners Inc. Makes New $9.95 Million Investment in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Guardian Partners Inc. acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 18,971 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $9,951,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $517.72 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $473.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.40, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $510.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $547.11.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.83 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on UNH shares. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective 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. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

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