Jennison Associates LLC Acquires 3,694 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 244,477 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 3,694 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $123,671,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. One Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,706 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,875,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 68.6% in the fourth quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Rice Partnership LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 6,389 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,232,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,630 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,330,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brentview Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,464,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock opened at $548.65 on Tuesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $536.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $565.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $504.91 billion, a PE ratio of 35.40, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.61.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.63 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.19%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on UNH shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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.