Cibc World Market Inc. Grows Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Cibc World Market Inc. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 65.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 323,338 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 128,447 shares during the quarter. Cibc World Market Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $163,564,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 132.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 65 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 9.5% during the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 22,182 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $11,297,000 after buying an additional 1,920 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 76.9% during the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 6,343 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,230,000 after acquiring an additional 2,757 shares during the period. Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.0% in the second quarter. Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC now owns 4,510 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,297,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashburton Jersey Ltd acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter worth about $139,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.3 %

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $545.29 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $538.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $565.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $501.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.83 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.64 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on UNH shares. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $629.32.

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.