Sandy Cove Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Sandy Cove Advisors LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,051 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,096,896,000 after purchasing an additional 5,290,025 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at about $480,903,000. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9,235.4% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 784,924 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $458,929,000 after purchasing an additional 776,516 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 33.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,361,396 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,380,661,000 after purchasing an additional 587,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 129.7% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,029,540 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $601,951,000 after purchasing an additional 581,324 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.1 %

UNH opened at $510.03 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $630.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $469.37 billion, a PE ratio of 33.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.62. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $549.37 and its 200-day moving average is $562.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $627.74.

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.