UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Purchased by Chesley Taft & Associates LLC

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,129 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $16,253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UNH. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,138 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 8,867 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,485,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,746 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $15,553,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co now owns 771 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lmcg Investments LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 37,974 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $19,210,000 after purchasing an additional 4,022 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $524.78 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.83. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a one year low of $436.38 and a one year high of $630.73. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $547.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $563.84. The stock has a market cap of $482.95 billion, a PE ratio of 33.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.83 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. Hsbc Global Res raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group cut their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus 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.