Giverny Capital Inc. Makes New Investment in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Giverny Capital Inc. bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,364 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $1,196,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,956,219 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $10,068,869,000 after buying an additional 319,515 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $6,375,744,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $4,514,178,000 after purchasing an additional 861,854 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,931,478 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $4,012,218,000 after buying an additional 36,394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,223,331 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $3,148,134,000 after acquiring an additional 182,361 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res raised UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $650.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $632.85.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE UNH traded down $3.63 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $583.43. The stock had a trading volume of 3,865,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,340,640. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $438.50 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $514.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $542.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $533.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.64, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.83 EPS. 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 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 54.19%.

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.