UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Purchased by Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC

Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 14.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,343 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,197,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UNH. Delta Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 274 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC now owns 990 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $579,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Jmac Enterprises LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Powers Advisory Group LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 418 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. 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 report on Friday, January 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $629.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.3 %

UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $7.19 during trading on Thursday, reaching $545.29. 2,924,027 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,584,902. The company's 50-day moving average is $538.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $565.09. The firm has a market cap of $501.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.18, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted 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. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.83 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.74 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

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.