Checchi Capital Advisers LLC Increases Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 32.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,423 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,274 shares during the quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $8,814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,540,102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,626,387,000 after purchasing an additional 563,554 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,636,704 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,440,133,000 after acquiring an additional 318,039 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,061,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,884,019,000 after acquiring an additional 193,800 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,931,478 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,012,218,000 after purchasing an additional 36,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,197,167 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,869,320,000 after purchasing an additional 107,097 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research 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 has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 purchase, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $470.49 on Wednesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $432.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.35, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $518.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $559.08.

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

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

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.