Bailard Inc. Has $41.41 Million Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Bailard Inc. grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,661 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 829 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group makes up 1.2% of Bailard Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $41,413,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. BIP Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 621 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $327,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 78,480 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $41,317,000 after acquiring an additional 2,873 shares during the period. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,087 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,051,000 after buying an additional 406 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,722 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $907,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Carret Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC now owns 6,586 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,467,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued 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 given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock traded up $1.12 on Wednesday, hitting $487.30. 3,722,296 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,532,990. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $449.26 billion, a PE ratio of 29.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.54. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $554.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $486.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $514.57.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $1.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.