West Branch Capital LLC Boosts Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

West Branch Capital LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,170 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up about 1.8% of West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $5,650,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Delta Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $965,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 7.0% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 274 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC now owns 990 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $579,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Matrix Private Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% in the second quarter. Matrix Private Capital Group LLC now owns 542 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UNH. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $595.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $627.74.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH opened at $519.08 on Thursday. 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 $477.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50 day moving average of $545.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $564.10. 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 earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.75 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

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

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.