UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Stake Raised by Maxwell Wealth Strategies Inc.

Maxwell Wealth Strategies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,957 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the quarter. Maxwell Wealth Strategies Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,002,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth about $6,375,744,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,914,740,000. Amundi increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 97.2% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 6,069,100 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,183,132,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991,470 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 76,830.4% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,888,641 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $955,388,000 after buying an additional 1,886,186 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,923,770 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,514,178,000 after acquiring an additional 861,854 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 5.5 %

NYSE:UNH opened at $553.81 on Wednesday. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $509.40 and its 200-day moving average is $541.42. The firm has a market cap of $506.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $436.38 and a 12 month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on UNH shares. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

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.