Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. Acquires New Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 637 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $335,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC now owns 577 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,217 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $614,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 2,456 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,238,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Bensler LLC raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bensler LLC now owns 7,293 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,677,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX now owns 1,695 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $855,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the firm’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 directly 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. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen reduced 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 upped their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $534.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $596.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $8.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $501.29. 6,616,632 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,553,088. The business has a 50-day moving average of $488.63 and a 200 day moving average of $515.13. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $436.38 and a fifty-two week high of $554.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $462.16 billion, a PE ratio of 30.64, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.91 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $99.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.74 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued 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 1.50%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.