UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Acquired by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 34.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 14,013 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,584 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $7,089,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Dark Forest Capital Management LP raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 76.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 734 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Forefront Analytics LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Forefront Analytics LLC now owns 877 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $449,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,112,000. Copperwynd Financial LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 24.2% in the 2nd quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 1,775 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $904,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 322.7% in the 2nd quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,661 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,957,000 after acquiring an additional 10,429 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.5 %

UNH stock opened at $532.26 on Monday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $489.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.34, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $541.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $564.34.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.83 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on UNH. StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $627.74.

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.