O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Raises Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 119,351 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 6,813 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $60,375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $341,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 11.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,778,636 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,039,933,000 after purchasing an additional 180,479 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 129.7% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,029,540 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $601,951,000 after buying an additional 581,324 shares in the last quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 5,037 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,945,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,522,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $595.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.6 %

UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $8.44 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $524.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,236,968 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,272,845. The stock has a market cap of $479.75 billion, a PE ratio of 33.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year 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. The company has a 50 day moving average of $508.81 and a 200-day moving average of $543.92.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.83 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.