Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Purchases 124 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,078 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $1,094,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 53,573.1% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,352,490 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,238,515,000 after purchasing an additional 2,348,107 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 49.3% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,617,813 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,904,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195,352 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 75.0% during the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,011,150 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,014,002,000 after acquiring an additional 862,024 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 35.9% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,090,986 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,627,311,000 after purchasing an additional 815,822 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,725,650 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,879,245,000 after purchasing an additional 623,631 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays raised 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, April 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $545.00 to $562.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $605.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $570.05.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of UnitedHealth Group stock traded up $2.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $503.21. The company had a trading volume of 2,942,890 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,361,874. The company’s 50-day moving average is $481.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $511.98. 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 company has a market cap of $462.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.55.

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

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 45.97%.

Insider Activity

In other UnitedHealth Group news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $597,581.28. Following the transaction, 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. Corporate 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.