Hanson & Doremus Investment Management Acquires 473 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Hanson & Doremus Investment Management lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 112.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 892 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the period. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $451,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,997 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,010,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 10,852 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $5,490,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Iams Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Iams Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $1,113,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 710,185 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $359,254,000 after buying an additional 35,719 shares during the period. Finally, Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,655 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $837,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $6.32 during trading on Thursday, hitting $544.42. 1,322,458 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,496,540. The stock has a market cap of $501.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.13, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.62. The firm's fifty day moving average is $538.18 and its 200-day moving average is $565.09. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is 54.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price 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.