Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC Acquires 1,193 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 17.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,957 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,193 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up 0.7% of Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $4,025,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 26,074 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 41,308 shares in the last quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $21,165,000. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth about $558,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,061,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,884,019,000 after buying an additional 193,800 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded down $3.88 during trading on Friday, reaching $520.64. 3,643,702 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,867,549. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $556.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $561.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $479.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The business had revenue of $100.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.56 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group reduced their target price 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 upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Stephens upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $626.79.

About UnitedHealth Group

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.