Aviso Financial Inc. Purchases 1,419 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Aviso Financial Inc. lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 120,024 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,419 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 3.1% of Aviso Financial Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Aviso Financial Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $60,715,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $341,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,778,636 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,039,933,000 after acquiring an additional 180,479 shares during the last quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 2,687 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,571,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 23,266 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $13,589,000 after acquiring an additional 1,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortis Capital Management LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fortis Capital Management LLC now owns 8,920 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,216,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on UNH. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $480.79 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The company has a market capitalization of $439.78 billion, a PE ratio of 31.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $511.85 and its 200-day moving average is $551.01.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.19%.

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.