1776 Wealth LLC Grows Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

1776 Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 30.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,353 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 550 shares during the period. 1776 Wealth LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of UNH. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNH opened at $481.18 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $512.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $551.50. The company has a market cap of $440.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on UNH. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.