UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Purchased by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 311,911 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,880 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $164,212,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,220,234 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $12,715,790,000 after acquiring an additional 527,526 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,787,768 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,934,895,000 after acquiring an additional 341,749 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,242,282 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,155,676,000 after purchasing an additional 180,331 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,843,207 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,937,976,000 after purchasing an additional 27,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 6.5% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 5,757,410 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,902,829,000 after purchasing an additional 352,710 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $7.36 during trading on Thursday, hitting $491.47. 1,415,048 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,409,753. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $483.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $513.21. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $554.70. The company has a market cap of $452.19 billion, a PE ratio of 29.98, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.55.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.26 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $1.88 per share. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.97%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

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

UnitedHealth Group 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.