Sfmg LLC Grows Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Sfmg LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 21.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,871 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 334 shares during the period. Sfmg LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $946,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Intellus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $824,000. Forefront Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,324,000. Plancorp LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 12,805 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,478,000 after buying an additional 1,711 shares during the last quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $70,000. Finally, Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 611 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of UNH opened at $517.72 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The company has a market cap of $473.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $510.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $547.47.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion for 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.83 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on UNH shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

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.