Bellecapital International Ltd. Purchases 1,630 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Bellecapital International Ltd. grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 11.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,227 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 1,630 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 1.4% of Bellecapital International Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Bellecapital International Ltd.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $8,209,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.4% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 220,590 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $128,975,000 after purchasing an additional 26,074 shares during the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,957 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,025,000 after purchasing an additional 1,193 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,275.3% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 44,547 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $26,060,000 after purchasing an additional 41,308 shares during the last quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth approximately $21,165,000. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 9,115 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,611,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $474.95 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $437.09 billion, a PE ratio of 30.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50 day moving average of $516.59 and a 200 day moving average of $557.04. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The business 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.19%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group 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.