Steele Capital Management Inc. Makes New $563,000 Investment in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Steele Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 1,069 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $563,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,941 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,919,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Bellecapital International Ltd. raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 13,823 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,277,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 34,297 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $17,292,000 after acquiring an additional 1,884 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 326.0% during the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 213 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded down $6.35 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $489.00. The company had a trading volume of 2,192,486 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,479,956. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.85. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $554.70. The firm has a market cap of $449.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $485.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $514.07.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $1.88 dividend. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen dropped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays increased their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $675.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. HSBC raised UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $570.05.

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.