Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. Invests $1.03 Million in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,948 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $1,025,000. UnitedHealth Group comprises about 0.9% of Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 340.0% during the third quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 66 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 148.1% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 67 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Annapolis Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 79 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $570.05.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNH traded up $2.25 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $503.21. The company had a trading volume of 2,922,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,361,874. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $462.99 billion, a PE ratio of 30.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.55. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $554.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $481.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $511.98.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 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 business had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.26 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.97%.

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.