Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Has $61.58 Million Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 121,738 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,906 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 0.5% of Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $61,583,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 76,830.4% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,888,641 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $955,388,000 after buying an additional 1,886,186 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9,235.4% in the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 784,924 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $458,929,000 after buying an additional 776,516 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 129.7% during the third 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. State Street Corp boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,540,102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $26,626,387,000 after purchasing an additional 563,554 shares during the period. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth $276,785,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE UNH opened at $467.21 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $515.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $556.09. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $630.73. 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 has a market cap of $429.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.14, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is presently 54.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. 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 research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus 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.