Delta Financial Group Inc. Buys 27 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Delta Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,596 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Delta Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $840,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Robbins Farley purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1,000.0% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 55 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 340.0% in the third quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 66 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the first quarter worth $35,000. 87.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. HSBC restated a “reduce” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective (down previously from $550.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $596.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $591.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $551.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $579.33.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of UNH traded up $1.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $494.70. 3,820,008 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,274,309. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $445.68 and a 52 week high of $554.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $456.08 billion, a PE ratio of 20.75, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $502.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $518.44.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.98 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $94.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.13 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.39% and a net margin of 6.02%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.34 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 31.54%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other UnitedHealth Group news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,236 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,306.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.