Headlands Technologies LLC Takes Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,331 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $701,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,941 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $8,919,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth $216,000. Bellecapital International Ltd. increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 13,823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $7,277,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.8% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 34,297 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $17,292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 326.0% in the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 213 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com cut UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $605.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE UNH traded up $1.49 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $495.35. The company had a trading volume of 2,727,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,623,667. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $554.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $485.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $514.21. The stock has a market cap of $455.76 billion, a PE ratio of 30.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.54.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.26 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $1.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 45.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.