Allstate Corp Acquires 26,644 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Allstate Corp raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3,187.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,480 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,644 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 0.4% of Allstate Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Allstate Corp’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $13,901,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth about $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of UNH opened at $515.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The company has a market capitalization of $471.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $508.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $544.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.83 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, 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.