UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) is SP Asset Management LLC’s 3rd Largest Position

SP Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 121,303 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,097 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group makes up 5.1% of SP Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. SP Asset Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $61,363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group in the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, DecisionPoint Financial LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 155.0% in the fourth quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on UNH shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Price Performance

Shares of UNH opened at $476.22 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $438.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $514.58 and a 200 day moving average of $554.81. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a twelve month low of $436.38 and a twelve month high of $630.73.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 26.69%. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.83 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.19%.

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.