Buffington Mohr McNeal Increases Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Buffington Mohr McNeal boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,769 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 56 shares during the quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $932,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Marietta Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,969 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,881,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Suncoast Equity Management raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Suncoast Equity Management now owns 62,530 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,920,000 after buying an additional 864 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 2,726 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,435,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Prosperitas Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Prosperitas Financial LLC now owns 3,175 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,671,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First American Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 91.2% in the fourth quarter. First American Trust FSB now owns 1,899 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after buying an additional 906 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH stock traded up $24.47 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $470.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,118,751 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,353,397. The business has a fifty day moving average of $491.15 and a 200-day moving average of $515.88. The stock has a market cap of $433.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.54. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $554.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 26.39%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.7 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $1.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 31.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on UNH. Barclays began coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $551.00 target price for the company. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $596.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $573.80.

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.