Romano Brothers AND Company Decreases Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Romano Brothers AND Company reduced its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,181 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 55 shares during the period. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,115,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 65,860 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,540,000 after purchasing an additional 3,525 shares during the last quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.5% during the second quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,049 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $536,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Columbus Hill Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $14,789,000. Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 33.3% in the 2nd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 12,008 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,115,000 after purchasing an additional 2,999 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9.9% during the second quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,594 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,291,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.1 %

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $510.03 on Friday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The stock has a market cap of $469.37 billion, a PE ratio of 33.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $549.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $562.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.83 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on UNH shares. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday. Barclays lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus 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.