Columbia Trust Co 01012016 Grows Stock Holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Columbia Trust Co 01012016 boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 13.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 604 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up 1.2% of Columbia Trust Co 01012016’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Columbia Trust Co 01012016’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $2,766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Keebeck Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 11.6% in the second quarter. Keebeck Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,788 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,122 shares during the period. Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the third quarter worth about $216,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth approximately $207,000. Bartlett & Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 5.7% in the third quarter. Bartlett & Co. LLC now owns 164,353 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $82,865,000 after buying an additional 8,873 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 5.8% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 34,297 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $17,292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UNH. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $675.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday, March 7th. HSBC reissued a “reduce” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective (down from $550.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $596.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $551.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $579.33.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $6.43 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $504.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $518.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $453.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.54.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total transaction of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 $4,527,306.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

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.