Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV Boosts Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,680 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up approximately 3.1% of Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $6,414,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Echo45 Advisors LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Echo45 Advisors LLC now owns 619 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. True North Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 54.7% during the 4th quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 1,760 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $890,000 after purchasing an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 464 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $235,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 51,868 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,238,000 after acquiring an additional 2,365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sharp Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Sharp Financial Services LLC now owns 885 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE:UNH opened at $519.08 on Thursday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $545.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $564.10. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $477.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.83 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 54.19%.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was 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 $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their position. The purchase 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on UNH. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $627.74.

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.