World Equity Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

World Equity Group Inc. grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 108.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,070 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 1,077 shares during the quarter. World Equity Group Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,047,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 220,590 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $128,975,000 after buying an additional 26,074 shares during the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,957 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,025,000 after buying an additional 1,193 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,275.3% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 44,547 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $26,060,000 after purchasing an additional 41,308 shares during the period. Parsifal Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $21,165,000. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 9,115 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,611,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $629.32.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

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

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH opened at $465.58 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $428.46 billion, a PE ratio of 30.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $519.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $560.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.