Valmark Advisers Inc. Boosts Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,178 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $3,252,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,220,234 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $12,715,790,000 after acquiring an additional 527,526 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,787,768 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,934,895,000 after acquiring an additional 341,749 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,242,282 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,155,676,000 after purchasing an additional 180,331 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,843,207 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,937,976,000 after purchasing an additional 27,127 shares during the period. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 5,757,410 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,902,829,000 after purchasing an additional 352,710 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:UNH traded up $1.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $495.35. The stock had a trading volume of 2,727,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,623,667. The company has a market capitalization of $455.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.54. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $554.70. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $485.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $514.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The company 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. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 1.52%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at $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 Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $610.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Barclays increased 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $570.05.

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.