Custom Index Systems LLC Has $470,000 Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Custom Index Systems LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 929 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Custom Index Systems LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $470,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,649,000. Austin Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,811 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,422,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares during the period. West Bancorporation Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. West Bancorporation Inc. now owns 679 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 324.0% in the fourth quarter. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,747 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $884,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Country Trust Bank boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 23,347.9% during the fourth quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 105,750 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $53,495,000 after buying an additional 105,299 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired 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 directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $542.30 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $499.07 billion, a PE ratio of 34.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.62. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $537.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $564.96. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average 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.