Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Purchases 1,373 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 27,687 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,373 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 1.1% of Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $14,576,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Robbins Farley bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 340.0% in the 3rd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 66 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 148.1% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 67 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, 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 owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.4 %

UNH traded up $6.58 during trading on Thursday, hitting $493.88. 4,329,383 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,530,458. The stock has a market capitalization of $454.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.19, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.54. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $554.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $486.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $514.42.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.26 EPS. Analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Barclays upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $570.05.

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.