CCM Investment Advisers LLC Purchases 2,288 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

CCM Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,346 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,288 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 1.8% of CCM Investment Advisers LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. CCM Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $16,363,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. VitalStone Financial LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 600.0% in the second quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 70 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 11.1% in the second quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 1,054 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $537,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 161.3% in the 2nd quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 8,414 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,285,000 after acquiring an additional 5,194 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% in the second quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 268,033 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $136,499,000 after purchasing an additional 1,363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BOKF NA lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.9% during the second quarter. BOKF NA now owns 66,217 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,722,000 after purchasing an additional 1,857 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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 lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $603.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $626.79.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNH stock traded up $1.26 on Friday, reaching $525.78. The stock had a trading volume of 2,364,694 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,663,190. The stock has a market cap of $483.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $556.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $561.20.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.72%.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.