West Paces Advisors Inc. Grows Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

West Paces Advisors Inc. boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,649 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $868,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC now owns 577 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the third quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 2,456 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,238,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,217 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $614,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Bensler LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bensler LLC now owns 7,293 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,677,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.1% during the third quarter. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX now owns 1,695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $855,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on UNH. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $605.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $551.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $573.80.

Insider Activity

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

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $23.26 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $468.89. 11,813,391 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,407,214. The business has a fifty day moving average of $491.15 and a 200 day moving average of $515.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $554.70. The company has a market capitalization of $432.28 billion, a PE ratio of 19.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.54.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued 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 $6.54 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 26.39%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.7 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $1.88 per share. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.54%.

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.