Vest Financial LLC Purchases 1,204 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 20.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,043 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,204 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $3,563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cidel Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,013 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,536,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 6,468 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,272,000 after acquiring an additional 662 shares during the last quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC now owns 1,252 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $633,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 54.0% during the fourth quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd now owns 67,628 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $34,210,000 after buying an additional 23,710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harvey Investment Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Harvey Investment Co. LLC now owns 4,841 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,449,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays lowered 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. StockNews.com upgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. Finally, KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $650.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $526.68 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $529.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $564.30. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $436.38 and a 12-month high of $630.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $484.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.98, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.61.

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 return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm had revenue of $100.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.