Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Boosts Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 28.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 75,597 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,571 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 1.3% of Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $38,242,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 132.1% in 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 period. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’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 purchase, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Hsbc Global Res raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price 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 investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of UNH opened at $542.30 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $499.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.99, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50-day moving average of $536.17 and a 200 day moving average of $565.26. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-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.

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 the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.83 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.63 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid 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 1.55%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.19%.

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.