UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Acquired by Picton Mahoney Asset Management

Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 50.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,637 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 10,297 shares during the quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $16,129,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% in the fourth 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 increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 340.0% in the 3rd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 66 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 148.1% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 67 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Annapolis Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 38.6% in the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 79 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.48, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,527,306.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were 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 owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $618.00 to $584.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 1.3 %

UNH traded up $6.58 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $500.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,395,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,378,167. The stock has a market cap of $460.92 billion, a PE ratio of 30.62, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.79. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $554.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $481.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $511.98.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.63 by $0.28. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.50% and a net margin of 4.05%. The company had revenue of $99.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.6 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $1.88 dividend. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is currently 45.97%.

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.