Howard Capital Management Inc. Acquires 65 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,925 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $4,009,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. DecisionPoint Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 155.0% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 7.3 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $465.58 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $428.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.04, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $630.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $519.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $560.48.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. HSBC upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $629.32.

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.