UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Stake Increased by Spinnaker Trust

Spinnaker Trust increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,397 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the period. Spinnaker Trust’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $7,053,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,941 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,919,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $216,000. Bellecapital International Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 13,823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,277,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 5.8% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 34,297 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $17,292,000 after buying an additional 1,884 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 326.0% in the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 213 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $610.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $1.49 on Friday, hitting $495.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,608,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,508,195. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $485.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $514.21. The firm has a market cap of $455.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.54. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $554.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.26 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $1.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.97%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

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.