McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 73.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 356 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $188,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Robbins Farley purchased a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 340.0% in the third quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 66 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 148.1% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 67 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $6.58 during trading on Thursday, hitting $493.88. 4,329,383 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,530,458. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $454.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.19, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $486.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $514.42. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.63 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $1.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $570.05.

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.