UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Acquired by Columbia Trust Co 01012016

Columbia Trust Co 01012016 lifted its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 13.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 1.2% of Columbia Trust Co 01012016’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Columbia Trust Co 01012016’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,766,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Robbins Farley acquired a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 340.0% during the 3rd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 66 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction of $597,581.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on 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 owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on UNH. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $596.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. HSBC reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and issued a $480.00 target price (down from $550.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, December 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $610.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, November 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $579.33.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $6.43 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $492.31. The stock had a trading volume of 3,103,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,126,965. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $504.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $518.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $453.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $445.68 and a 1 year high of $554.70.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.98 by $0.18. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.39% and a net margin of 6.02%. The business had revenue of $94.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.13 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.34 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.82 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $1.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 31.54%.

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.