Highland Capital Management LLC Has $4.94 Million Stock Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Highland Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 9,761 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after selling 314 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $4,938,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,096,896,000 after buying an additional 5,290,025 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9,235.4% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 784,924 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $458,929,000 after acquiring an additional 776,516 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 33.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,361,396 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,380,661,000 after purchasing an additional 587,088 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 129.7% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,029,540 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $601,951,000 after purchasing an additional 581,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,540,102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $26,626,387,000 after buying an additional 563,554 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $511.57 per share, for a total transaction of $511,570.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This represents a 28.57 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:UNH opened at $538.29 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $495.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.62. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $436.38 and a 52 week high of $630.73. 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 fifty day moving average of $539.43 and a 200 day moving average of $565.28.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.83 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.74 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is 54.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America dropped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $629.32.

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.