Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. Buys New Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 31,616 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $16,645,000. UnitedHealth Group makes up approximately 2.4% of Barlow Wealth Partners Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crestone Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Crestone Asset Management LLC now owns 471 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $1,025,000. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,078 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,094,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Simmons Bank grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 10,795 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $5,683,000 after buying an additional 1,123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centric Wealth Management lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Centric Wealth Management now owns 6,966 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,504,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was 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 approximately $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the subject of several research reports. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. 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 target on UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.4 %

UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $2.25 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $503.21. The stock had a trading volume of 2,942,905 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,362,104. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $554.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $462.99 billion, a PE ratio of 30.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $481.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $511.98.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.26 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.49%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.