Meridian Wealth Partners LLC Acquires 63 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Meridian Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 9.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 750 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Robbins Farley bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 340.0% during the 3rd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 66 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 148.1% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 67 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on UNH. Barclays increased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $605.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $1.49 on Friday, hitting $495.35. The company had a trading volume of 2,727,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,623,667. The firm has a market capitalization of $455.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $485.84 and a 200-day moving average of $514.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.26 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 45.97%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, 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.

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.