UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Acquired by Commonwealth Financial Services LLC

Commonwealth Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 26.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,004 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 209 shares during the period. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of UNH. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,096,896,000 after buying an additional 5,290,025 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 9,235.4% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 784,924 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $458,929,000 after acquiring an additional 776,516 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 33.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,361,396 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,380,661,000 after purchasing an additional 587,088 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 129.7% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,029,540 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $601,951,000 after purchasing an additional 581,324 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,540,102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,626,387,000 after buying an additional 563,554 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:UNH opened at $548.65 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $504.91 billion, a PE ratio of 35.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.61. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The business’s 50 day moving average is $536.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $565.20.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released 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. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.63 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors 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 yield of 1.53%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of 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 issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.