Empower Advisory Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Key Points

• Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 6.8%, owning 251,890 shares worth approximately $131.93 million after acquiring an additional 15,983 shares.
• UnitedHealth Group's stock has seen a range from a 12-month low of $234.60 to a high of $630.73, currently trading at $240.94.
• Recent analyst ratings include a downgrade from HSBC with a price target of $270, and a revised target of $418 from JPMorgan Chase & Co., indicating mixed sentiments from the market.

Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 6.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 251,890 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 15,983 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $131,927,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 3.8% in the first quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 10,857 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $5,686,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the period. Advyzon Investment Management LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 13.3% in the first quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,166,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 10.6% during the first quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC now owns 6,465 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $3,386,000 after acquiring an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc. increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc. now owns 12,322 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $6,454,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 4.2% during the first quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 122,145 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $63,973,000 after purchasing an additional 4,871 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on UNH. HSBC reissued a "reduce" rating and set a $270.00 target price (down previously from $490.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $355.00 to $286.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $400.00 to $325.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $353.00 to $317.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Argus lowered UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $366.52.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,533 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $320.80 per share, with a total value of $491,786.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,935,386.40. This trade represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Patrick Hugh Conway sold 589 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $179,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,171,390. The trade was a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders acquired 109,408 shares of company stock worth $31,607,768 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH traded up $5.71 during trading on Friday, reaching $250.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,705,779 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,086,206. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $234.60 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company's fifty day moving average price is $292.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $408.71. The company has a market capitalization of $227.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.43.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.45 by ($0.37). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The firm had revenue of $111.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.75 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.80 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $2.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $8.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from UnitedHealth Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is 38.30%.

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.