Principle Wealth Partners LLC Raises Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Principle Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,530 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $3,964,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,351 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,396,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Opinicus Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,160,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,707,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $928,000. Finally, Consolidated Planning Corp boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 15,079 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,939,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays raised their target price 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. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $570.05.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $1.49 during trading on Friday, hitting $495.35. 2,727,016 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,623,667. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $485.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $514.14. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $554.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $455.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.28, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.54.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

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

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.