Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,193 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises 1.1% of Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $6,674,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. 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 acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $517.72 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $630.73. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $510.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $547.11. The company has a market cap of $473.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.40, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target 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. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average 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.