Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC Purchases 903 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,882 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 903 shares during the quarter. Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $14,679,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Robbins Farley acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 340.0% during the third quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 66 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 148.1% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 67 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock traded up $6.43 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $490.54. 666,837 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,398,384. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $483.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $513.21. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $451.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.59, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.55. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. The business 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on UNH. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $610.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the company 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $570.05.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by 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.