DB Fitzpatrick & Co Inc Takes $839,000 Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

DB Fitzpatrick & Co Inc acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,658 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $839,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 132.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 65 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on UNH. 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. StockNews.com cut shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $650.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $627.74.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH stock traded down $0.56 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $510.03. The company had a trading volume of 7,462,712 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,104,531. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $549.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $563.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $469.37 billion, a PE ratio of 33.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.83 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

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.