Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Purchases 1,910 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,946 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 1,910 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $22,736,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Remove Ads

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH traded down $0.53 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $485.51. 2,390,847 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,934,339. 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 cap of $444.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The company's 50-day moving average is $512.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $552.00.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. UnitedHealth Group's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.83 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on UNH. Barclays cut their price objective 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. HSBC raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $595.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $629.32.

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.