Novare Capital Management LLC Increases Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Novare Capital Management LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 46,688 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises approximately 2.0% of Novare Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Novare Capital Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $23,618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of UNH. Delta Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.0% in the third quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $965,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank boosted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 274 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC now owns 990 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $579,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Powers Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 4.8% in the third quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 418 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.5 %

UNH stock opened at $532.26 on Monday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73. The company has a market cap of $489.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.34, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $541.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $564.34.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.83 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.74 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business 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 of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America dropped their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. TD Cowen increased 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. Stephens upped their price target 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. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $627.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 acquired at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.