Missouri Trust & Investment Co Acquires 723 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Missouri Trust & Investment Co lifted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 23.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,864 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 723 shares during the period. Missouri Trust & Investment Co’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,955,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 152.4% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 53 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 132.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 65 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of UNH stock opened at $519.08 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $477.70 billion, a PE ratio of 33.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.91. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The company has a 50-day moving average of $545.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $564.10.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.83 EPS. On average, analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.75 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on UNH shares. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $627.74.

UnitedHealth Group 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.