Novare Capital Management LLC Raises Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Novare Capital Management LLC boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,688 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for 2.0% of Novare Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Novare Capital Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $23,618,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UNH. Dark Forest Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 76.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 734 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Forefront Analytics LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Forefront Analytics LLC now owns 877 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $449,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,112,000. Copperwynd Financial LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 24.2% in the second quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 1,775 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $904,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the period. Finally, Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 322.7% during the second quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,661 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,957,000 after purchasing an additional 10,429 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on UNH. Barclays lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $627.74.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE UNH opened at $532.26 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $541.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $564.34. The company has a market capitalization of $489.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The firm 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.83 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.74 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.19%.

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.