TCG Advisory Services LLC Grows Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

TCG Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 60.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 33,234 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 12,525 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group comprises about 1.2% of TCG Advisory Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. TCG Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $17,497,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 53,573.1% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,352,490 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,238,515,000 after buying an additional 2,348,107 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 49.3% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,617,813 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,904,670,000 after buying an additional 1,195,352 shares during the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 75.0% during the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,011,150 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,014,002,000 after acquiring an additional 862,024 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 35.9% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,090,986 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,627,311,000 after acquiring an additional 815,822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 20.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,725,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,879,245,000 after acquiring an additional 623,631 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on UNH. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $607.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $570.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total value of $597,581.28. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

UNH stock traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $492.45. The stock had a trading volume of 2,487,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,130,659. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $482.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $512.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $453.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.55. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $99.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.26 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $1.88 per share. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 45.97%.

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.