Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. Acquires 30 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,671 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 3.0% of Valley Brook Capital Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $3,512,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,941 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $8,919,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Bellecapital International Ltd. boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 13,823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,277,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.8% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 34,297 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $17,292,000 after buying an additional 1,884 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 326.0% during the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 213 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the completion of 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on UNH shares. TD Cowen cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $566.00 to $571.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:UNH traded down $0.52 on Friday, hitting $492.45. 2,487,811 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,130,659. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $554.70. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $482.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $512.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $453.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.55.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.26 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 45.97%.

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.