Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Increases Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH - Free Report) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,728 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 2,515 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC's holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $18,810,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UNH. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Robbins Farley purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 340.0% during the third quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 66 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 148.1% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 67 shares of the healthcare conglomerate's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on UNH shares. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $610.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $605.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $460.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of UnitedHealth Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $570.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE UNH traded down $6.35 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $489.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,192,486 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,479,956. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $554.70. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $485.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $513.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $449.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 26.50%. The firm had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $99.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.26 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $1.88 per share. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group's payout ratio is 45.97%.

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.

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