Auxier Asset Management Has $35.50 Million Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Auxier Asset Management lessened its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 15.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 67,422 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 12,075 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 5.7% of Auxier Asset Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Auxier Asset Management’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $35,496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Paralel Advisors LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Paralel Advisors LLC now owns 4,047 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,040,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 2,702 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,362,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $90,461,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,346,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,951,932 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $984,145,000 after purchasing an additional 366,837 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $497.12 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $554.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $457.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.39, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $493.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $506.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 45.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on UNH. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $580.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Baird R W upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $579.74.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.