UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Acquired by Hanson & Doremus Investment Management

Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 112.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 892 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $451,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 220,590 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $128,975,000 after buying an additional 26,074 shares in the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,957 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,025,000 after purchasing an additional 1,193 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1,275.3% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 44,547 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,060,000 after buying an additional 41,308 shares in the last quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $21,165,000. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 9,115 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,611,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. The trade was a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UNH. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Stephens upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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. One equities research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

NYSE UNH opened at $538.29 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $495.38 billion, a PE ratio of 34.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $539.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $565.28. 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 twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $630.73.

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 the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.83 earnings per share. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.74 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued 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 1.56%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.19%.

UnitedHealth Group Company 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.