Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Has $34.37 Million Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 67,950 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $34,373,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at about $341,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 11.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,778,636 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,039,933,000 after acquiring an additional 180,479 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 12.9% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 480 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 19.5% in the third quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,628 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,706,000 after acquiring an additional 754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vantage Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.6% in the third quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 154,130 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $90,117,000 after acquiring an additional 3,909 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:UNH opened at $486.54 on Wednesday. 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 one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $630.73. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $512.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $552.00. The company has a market cap of $445.04 billion, a PE ratio of 31.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Hsbc Global Res upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Stephens lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $629.32.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.