Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $3.15 Billion Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,223,331 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 182,361 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $3,148,134,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNH. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth $37,000. DecisionPoint Financial LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 155.0% during the fourth quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth $57,000. Finally, Tacita Capital Inc increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 166.7% during the fourth quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 112 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on UNH shares. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays reduced their price target 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. Stephens raised their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 1.6 %

UNH opened at $467.21 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company’s 50-day moving average is $515.81 and its 200 day moving average is $556.09. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $429.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.14, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 54.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.