Whitener Capital Management Inc. Has $2.98 Million Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Whitener Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,884 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 0.8% of Whitener Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Whitener Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,976,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Delta Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $965,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 274 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC now owns 990 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $579,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Matrix Private Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% in the second quarter. Matrix Private Capital Group LLC now owns 542 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on UNH. Oppenheimer increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $627.74.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $510.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $551.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $562.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $630.73. The company has a market capitalization of $469.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The company 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 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.83 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.72%.

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.