Nicholas Company Inc. Acquires 3,031 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Nicholas Company Inc. boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 142,641 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,031 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises about 1.2% of Nicholas Company Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Nicholas Company Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $72,156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.5 %

UNH opened at $488.52 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $446.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.52, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $511.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $550.07.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.83 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.19%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on UNH shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $625.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $629.32.

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.