Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC Grows Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,409 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $713,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. DecisionPoint Financial LLC grew its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 155.0% during the 4th quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $501.52 on Wednesday. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The company’s 50 day moving average is $521.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $562.03. 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 firm has a market cap of $461.54 billion, a PE ratio of 32.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.83 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNH has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $629.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.