Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. Boosts Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 16.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,949 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 3,399 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 0.9% of Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $12,115,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 902 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $456,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,578 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,304,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 575 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,654,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 44 Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,309 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $662,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $660.00 to $580.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $540.00 price target (down previously from $635.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $650.00 to $575.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $603.05.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $420.04 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $382.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $412.02 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a 50 day moving average of $501.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $532.94.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $109.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 35.18%.

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.