UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Acquired by Austin Private Wealth LLC

Austin Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,135 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $598,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $461,000. Values Added Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Values Added Financial LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $558,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Strong Tower Advisory Services increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 20,253 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $10,663,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Francis Financial Inc. increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Francis Financial Inc. now owns 455 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 16,866 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,880,000 after purchasing an additional 2,744 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on UNH shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $596.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $675.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $605.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $579.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $1.60 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $494.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,805,551 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,097,774. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $445.68 and a fifty-two week high of $554.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $456.08 billion, a PE ratio of 20.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $503.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $518.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.98 by $0.18. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.39% and a net margin of 6.02%. The business had revenue of $94.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.34 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.82 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $1.88 dividend. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.54%.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.