Empowered Funds LLC Acquires 8,302 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 25.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,399 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 8,302 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $20,436,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.6 %

UNH stock opened at $526.68 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $484.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.98, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.61. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $529.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $564.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.83 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus 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.