Mcrae Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Mcrae Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 27,762 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 2.8% of Mcrae Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Mcrae Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $14,044,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. DecisionPoint Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 155.0% during the 4th quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought 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 directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $531.31 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $524.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $563.71. 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. The company has a market cap of $488.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.28, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.61.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.83 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on UNH. Stephens raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.