Ardsley Advisory Partners LP Buys Shares of 20,000 UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Ardsley Advisory Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 20,000 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $10,117,000. UnitedHealth Group accounts for about 1.6% of Ardsley Advisory Partners LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in UNH. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 902 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $456,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,578 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,304,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 575 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $2,654,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,527 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $1,278,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $650.00 to $575.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Argus downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $652.00 to $525.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $600.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $596.86.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of UNH traded up $4.89 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $404.81. The company had a trading volume of 8,146,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,625,259. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $393.11 and a one year high of $630.73. The company has a market capitalization of $368.47 billion, a PE ratio of 26.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. 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 company's fifty day moving average price is $495.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $528.18.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The company had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $111.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.18%.

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.