Crews Bank & Trust Takes Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,358 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $1,193,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 132.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 65 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH traded up $7.19 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $545.29. 2,924,027 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,584,902. 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 company's 50-day moving average price is $538.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $565.09. The company has a market cap of $501.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.18, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.83 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.74 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value 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 $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.